Warren nosedives in new nationwide poll
The latest Quinnipiac poll also shows Buttigieg surging into second.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s support among Democratic primary voters nationwide plunged 50 percent over the past month, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, signaling that the shake-ups in the primary field are far from over.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has retaken the lead in the poll after an autumn that saw him surrender his solid frontrunner status, climbing 3 points to earn 24 percent in the poll. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., surged into second, rising 6 points to 16 percent, with Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders not far behind at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.
But Warren’s plummet — 14 points since the previous Quinnipiac poll taken a month ago — represents a brutal dive as the first nominating contests of 2020 inch closer. Warren has come under fire over the past few months since a summertime ascendance lifted her into the top tier of the primary field. She has received particularly intense scrutiny for her “Medicare for All” plan, including how she would pay for it.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who officially jumped into the race only on Sunday, registered 3 percent support in the poll, as did Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris. No other candidate received more than 2 percent support in the poll, meaning that it has no impact on candidates’ progress toward making the debate stage next month in Los Angeles.
While it’s still too soon to tell whether Buttigieg’s recent rise in Iowa and New Hampshire are indicators of a wider trend — he remains at fourth place in RealClearPolitics ’ ' average of national polls — Tuesday’s survey is a solid step in the right direction for the mayor and yet another warning sign for Warren.
Warren does hold a lead as voters’ second choice in the poll, with 20 percent, followed by Biden with 12 percent, Sanders at 11 percent and Buttigieg at 10 percent.
And a little less than two months out from the Iowa caucuses, more than 1 in 10 Democratic primary voters are still undecided about who will get their vote next year, with only a third of voters who have a preferred candidate saying their mind is made up.
The poll also holds positive news for Biden, finding that he retains a commanding lead as it relates to electability, with nearly half of voters, 46 percent, giving the former vice president the best shot to defeat President Donald Trump next November. Warren and Sanders were the closest in that measure, each receiving 10 percent, though the findings represent a 10-point drop for Warren and a 4-point drop for Sanders. A plurality of Democrats, 35 percent, said they considered the ability to beat Trump the most important quality when assessing candidates.
Additionally, the poll found that none of Biden’s rivals has been able to crack his firewall of support from black voters — Biden registered 43 percent support among the key voting bloc, followed by Sanders at 11 percent. No other candidate got more than 6 percent.
The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted by phone from Nov. 21 to 25 and surveyed 574 Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.