Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders in Dead Heat in California

Joe Biden (D) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are in a dead heat for first place in California, a CNN poll released on Wednesday revealed.

The survey, conducted by SSRS December 4-8, 2019, among 508 Californians likely to vote in the Democrat primary, showed the former vice president and socialist senator battling it out for first place, with 21 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) followed with 17 percent support. No other candidate saw double-digit support.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) came in fourth place with nine percent support, followed by Andrew Yang (D) with six percent support and Michael Bloomberg (D) with five percent support. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) followed with three percent support. The remaining candidates saw two percent support or less. Overall, Sen. Kamala Harris’s (D-CA) absence had little effect on the presidential primary in her home state, as she was barely garnering significant support herself.

The margin of error is +/- 5.2 percent.

Of the voters likely to vote in the Democrat primary, only 47 percent indicated that they will “definitely” support the candidate they chose. Another 41 percent said they “might” change their mind, and 13 percent said they have “no first choice.”

The voters seem to have the most confidence in Sanders’ ability to handle health care (28 percent), climate change (27 percent), and gun policy (18 percent). Most indicated more confidence in Biden to handle the economy (23 percent) and immigration (21 percent).

The current RealClearPolitics average reflects the tight race between the presidential hopefuls, showing Biden and Sanders separated by one percentage point.