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A new survey conducted by SSRS for CNN shows that Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris made substantial gains in their ratings in the wake of the first Democratic presidential debates, held on June 26 and 27, 2019, in Miami, Florida.
The poll, which was conducted after the debates, showed that the front-runner, Joe Biden, shrunk to only 5 points his lead to the other candidates. According to the poll, 22% of registered Democrats, or Democratic-leaning independents support Biden, while 17% were in favor of Harris, 15% behind Warren, and 14% support Sanders. None of the other 16 participants in the debate registered over 5% support.
The significant finding is that since May Biden has lost 10 percentage points, while Harris gained 9% and Warren 8%. Sanders also lost some popularity, showing a 4% decline.
The pollsters also found that among those that watched the debates or listened or read about them, 41% felt Harris performed the best. Only 13% thought Warren had the best performance, and 10% believed Biden did the best.
Among Democrats, white voters, younger voters, non-white women voters, and those who watched the debates, Biden and Harris are about even in popularity. And among liberals and whites with college degrees Harris is more popular than Biden. Warren is popular among independents, coming close to Biden’s and Sander’s support.
The overall conclusion of the poll is that 43% of potential Democratic voters believe that Biden has the best chance to beat Donald Trump in the 2020 elections. They say that it is more important to choose a candidate that has the best chance of defeating Trump in 2020 than voting for someone whose views on major issues they share.
