Former Vice President Joe Biden increased his lead atop a crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates by 2 points, a new poll finds.
Biden now has the support of 33 percent of Democratic primary voters across the nation, according to the Morning Consult survey, 13 points above the next-most popular candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Rounding out the top five are Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at 15 percent, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) at 8 percent and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 5 percent, the poll shows.
Among early voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada, Biden maintains a 16-point lead over Sanders, who is followed by Warren, Harris and billionaire Tom Steyer, according to Morning Consult.{mosads}
The results come as Biden’s electability argument is showing signs of weakness, with a survey from Monmouth University on Monday showing the former vice president’s support slipping to below 20 percent. The results mark a double-digit decline from its last poll in June and put him in a three-way tie nationally with Sanders and Warren.
Democrats have cited the poll as evidence Biden isn’t suitable to earn the party’s presidential nomination and isn’t the candidate best equipped to defeat President Trump in 2020 — a central focus of the party in choosing a nominee.
The Morning Consult poll surveyed more than 17,300 voters between Aug. 19 and Aug. 25. Its margin of error is 1 percent.