Bernie Sanders Rising: Poll Shows Socialist Senator Catching Joe Biden in Nevada

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is rising in Nevada, challenging Joe Biden’s (D) long-held lead, a Suffolk University/USA TODAY Poll released Tuesday revealed.

The survey, taken January 8-11, 2020 among 500 likely Democratic caucus-goers in Nevada, showed Sanders pushing Biden’s frontrunner status, coming in one point behind Biden’s 19 percent with 18 percent support.

No other candidate came within the +/- 4.4 margin of error, indicating a two-way race between the veteran politicians.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) came in third, seven points behind Sanders with 11 percent support. She was the only other candidate, aside from Biden and Sanders, to see double-digit support.

Pete Buttigieg (D) and Tom Steyer (D), both of whom will be participating in Tuesday’s debate in Des Moines, Iowa, tied for fourth place with eight percent support each. Andrew Yang (D) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) followed with four percent support each. However, over one-fifth — 22 percent — of voters indicated that they are still “undecided” ahead of the state’s February 22 caucus:

#Nevada @Suffolk_U/@USATODAY Poll (1/8-11):
Biden 19%
Sanders 18%
Warren 11%
Buttigieg 8%
Steyer 8%
Yang 4%
Klobuchar 4%
Booker 2%
Gabbard 1%
Delaney 1%
Patrick 0%
Bennet 0%
Williamson 0%

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) January 14, 2020

“Looking at the totality of the data, you’d have to say that Biden, Sanders and Warren are in a tier of their own,” Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said, according to USA Today.

“It’s late to say it’s early, but there’s still time for things to happen. What happens in Iowa and what happens in New Hampshire will affect what happens in Nevada,” he added.

The poll coincides with Sanders’ recent rise in Iowa, taking first place in the Hawkeye State just weeks ahead of the state’s February 3 caucus.

Both Biden and Sanders are also in a tight battle for the heart of the nation’s first primary state, New Hampshire. They are separated by just one percentage point (Biden with 23.3 percent and Sanders with 22.3 percent), according to Tuesday’s RealClearPolitics average.