Post-Warren Poll Shows Joe Biden Taking 16-Point Lead over Sanders Nationally

A Morning Consult poll, taken after Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) exit from the Democrat primary race, shows Joe Biden (D) taking a 16-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) nationally.

The survey, which polled 1,390 Democrat primary voters following Warren’s departure on Thursday, showed the former vice president taking a substantial double-digit lead over Sanders, 54 percent to 38 percent.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who remains in the race, came in with two percent support. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent:

#National @MorningConsult Poll (3/5):
Biden 54% (+16)
Sanders 38%
Gabbard 2%

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) March 6, 2020

Morning Consult noted that Biden also benefited from the departures of Pete Buttigieg (D), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mike Bloomberg (D), all of whom endorsed him.

“Biden’s early stumbles in Iowa and New Hampshire shook the Democratic electorate’s faith in his ability to beat President Donald Trump in November, but those perceptions have shifted since his Feb. 29 rout in South Carolina,” Morning Consult wrote.

As Breitbart News extensively detailed, Biden’s win in South Carolina was followed by what appeared to be an establishment effort to boost the former vice president ahead of Super Tuesday. That, combined with Warren’s refusal to drop out of the race prior to the March 3 primaries — a move critics say split the progressive base, damaging Sanders — led to a Biden sweep of the South. He ultimately took ten states, including delegate-rich Texas.

Morning Consult also found a rise in Biden’s electability following his strong Super Tuesday performance, “with 51 percent of Democratic primary voters saying they view Biden as the most electable Democratic candidate, up 34 points since polling conducted after the Nevada caucuses and New Hampshire primary.”

Morning Consult’s survey coincides with a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Friday, showing Biden leading Sanders by 13 percentage points. Notably, that poll was conducted prior to Warren’s departure from the race.