US Senator Bernie Sanders has jumped into a virtual tie with former vice president Joe Biden nationally just days before the first votes in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary election, according to a new poll. RNA - The senator from Vermont has the support of 27 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Biden gets 26 percent, according to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Friday.
Sanders‘ support has increased 6 percentage point since December, while Biden’s support has dropped 2 percentage points in the same period, the survey found.
Sanders’ single-point advantage, while well within the poll’s margin of error, marks his first lead of the primary in the NBC/WSJ survey.
Senator Elizabeth Warren trails with 15 percent. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is now in fourth place, with 9 percent support, surpassing the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, who came in at 7 percent.
In the December NBC/WSJ poll, Biden led the field with 28 percent, with Sanders at 21 percent, Warren at 18 percent and Bloomberg at 4 percent.
Sanders’ most powerful advantage may be the loyalty of his backers. Sixty percent of his supporters say they will definitely vote for him, while 48 percent say the same for Biden.
“Four years ago, Republicans thought it was unfathomable at this stage that Donald Trump could be the party’s nominee,” said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the survey along with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “The Democrats should not make that mistake. Bernie Sanders is formidable and that’s what we’ve learned in this survey.”
Recent surveys have determined that Sanders enjoys more support among Hispanic voters and young people between 18 and 29 years old, demographics likely fueling his late-stage surge to the top of the Democratic field.
Sanders, 78, would become America’s first Jewish president if elected. Nonetheless, he has called on the US government to withhold military aid to Israel if it continues to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank in Palestine.
Sanders’ rise to the top of the Democratic field has drawn attacks from Republican President Donald Trump.
“Wow! Crazy Bernie Sanders is surging in the polls, looking very good against his opponents in the Do Nothing Party. So what does this all mean? Stay tuned!” Trump tweeted on January 12.