2020 Poll Shows Warren Overtaking Sanders With Commanding Second Place Position

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is overtaking Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) long-held second place position among Democrat candidates, an Economist/YouGov Poll released Thursday reveals.

The poll, conducted June 16–18, surveyed 1500 U.S. adults (1202 registered voters) and asked likely Democrat primary voters: “If the Democratic presidential primary or caucus in your state were held today, who would you vote for?”

While Joe Biden (D) maintained his status as the frontrunner with 26 percent of the vote, Warren – who has been on Sanders’ heels over the last few weeks – overtook Sanders for second place with 16 percent support. Interestingly, 14 percent said they were not sure who they would choose.

Following the “not sures” comes Sanders with 12 percent support. He is followed by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Beto O’Rourke, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). They garnered 9 percent, 7 percent, 3 percent, and 2 percent respectively.

The margin of error for the survey is +/- 2.7 percentage points when adjusted for weighting and +/-2.9 percent for registered voters.

The survey also asked respondents to list the candidate or candidates they are “considering” voting for in the Democrat primary. Just over half – 52 percent – said they were considering Biden, while 45 percent said they were considering Warren. Once again, Sanders falls down a notch, with 38 percent considering Harris compared to Sanders’ 35 percent.

This is the third poll in a week that shows Warren overtaking Sanders. A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov last week had strikingly mirrored results, with Sanders falling behind Warren with 12 percent support.

While the overall consensus favors Biden, it is likely that recent backlash – from the fallout of his segregationist remarks and reemergence of ethics questions surrounding his son’s questionable foreign business dealings – could affect future results.

Additionally, a Park Street Strategies (PSS) survey released Monday showed that the vast majority of Democrat voters – 77 percent – are still unsure of who they will vote for in the Democrat primary.

The Real Clear Politics average still has Warren in third place with an 11.9 percent average. However, the two most recent polls listed in the average show her ahead of Sanders.