National poll finds tight race between Biden, Sanders and Warren

A new national survey of the Democratic presidential primary finds a three-way race for the nomination, with former Vice President Joe Biden barely leading Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The latest poll from The Economist-YouGov finds Biden at 22 percent support, followed by Sanders at 19 percent and Warren at 17 percent. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) registers 8 percent support and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg comes in at 7 percent.

The Economist-YouGov survey finds a closer race nationally than most other polls. Biden leads the field by nearly 13 points in the RealClearPolitics average, with most other recent surveys putting his level of support in the 30 percent range.{mosads}

Sanders has surged back into contention, according to the new poll, gaining more than any other candidate over the same survey from last month. That poll found Biden at 25 percent, followed by Warren at 18 and Sanders at 13.

But Warren might have the most room to grow — 50 percent of Democrats surveyed said they’re considering voting for her, compared to 45 percent who said the same of Biden and 44 percent who said they’re considering Sanders.

A strong majority of Democrats, 60 percent, said they would prefer to nominate a candidate who can defeat President Trump over a candidate who agrees with them on the issues.

The Economist-YouGov survey of 1,500 U.S. adults was conducted between Aug. 17 and 20 and has a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points. The Economist-YouGov pulls from a recruited panel of more than 10,000 respondents who are surveyed regularly.