Quinnipiac University Poll: ‘Bernie Sanders Gets His Groove Back’

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders dances at a GOTV concert and camp
JONATHAN ALCORN/AFP/Getty Images

The state of the Democrat primary presidential race remains in flux, according to Thursday’s post-debate Quinnipiac University Poll, which shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren topping the field with 28 percent of the vote and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) slowly regaining his footing.

The poll, taken October 17-21, 2019, among 713 Democrat voters and Democrat-leaning independents, found Warren in the lead with 28 percent support, followed by Biden, who fell seven points behind with 21 percent support.

One of the most significant takeaways from the poll is Sanders’ slow regain, coming in third place with 15 percent support. The last Quinnipiac University Poll, taken prior to the October 15 debate, showed Sanders polling at 11 percent.

The poll also shows Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) with a notable boost, coming in fourth place with ten percent support, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) with five percent support. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) garnered three percent support, with the remaining candidates seeing two percent support or less. The margin of error is +/- 4.6 percent.

While voters still view Biden as the most viable candidate in a matchup against Trump, that position is slipping.

According to Quinnipiac:

Biden is still viewed as the candidate who has the best chance of winning against Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, but he is not as strong on this question as he once was. In today’s poll, Biden gets 42 percent, but this is down from 48 percent in the October 14 poll and his high of 56 percent in an April 30 poll. Warren comes in second on this electability question with 20 percent, followed by Sanders at 14 percent.

Sanders is viewed as the most honest Democratic candidate for president by 28 percent of Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, followed by Biden and Warren who receive 15 percent apiece, and Buttigieg with 11 percent. Sanders and Warren are at the top on the question of which candidate “cares most about people like you,” as Sanders gets 28 percent, Warren receives 24 percent, and Biden gets 14 percent.

The October Quinnipiac University Poll showed Warren with 30 percent to Biden’s 27 percent, indicating that Sanders’ slow regain is affecting the top two candidates in an impactful way.

“Former Vice President Joe Biden slips, Senator Elizabeth Warren steadies, Senator Bernie Sanders gets his groove back, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg breaks back into double digits,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Mary Snow said of the poll’s results.

Warren’s extended lead over Biden and Sanders’ bump follows a CNN poll released this week, showing the former vice president as the clear frontrunner with 34 percent to Warren’s 19 percent and Sanders’ 16 percent.

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