Trump tops Democratic rivals in national poll when unnamed third-party candidates included

President Trump topped several top-tier Democratic presidential contenders when a theoretical third-party candidate was included in the hypothetical matchup, according a national poll released Monday.

A USA Today-Suffolk University poll found that Trump maintained a lead over the front-runners: former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He also led former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

While he beat each of them by between 3 and 10 percentage points, the unnamed third-party candidates received between 11 and 15 percent support and it’s not clear where that support would go in the November election.

Trump had the smallest lead against Biden, beating him by 3 percentage points.The president had 44 percent support compared to Biden’s 41 percent, with an unnamed third-party candidate raking in 11 percent of the vote.

Trump had a 5 percentage point lead when pitted against Sanders, receiving 44 percent to Sanders’ 39 percent. The third-party candidate earned 13 percent backing in the theoretical Sanders-Trump matchup.

The president won against Warren 45 percent to 37 percent, against Bloomberg 43 percent to 34 percent, and against Buttigieg 43 percent to 33 percent. In the Warren matchup, the third-party candidate won 12 percent of the vote, while in the other two the unnamed candidate collected 15 percent backing.

The president won among male voters, but the majority or plurality of female voters went against him in these matchups. The Democratic candidates were successful with voters between 18 and 34 years old, while Trump won among voters over the age of 35.

These theoretical wins come as the House prepares to vote to impeach the president Wednesday.

USA Today noted that polls a year out from the election are not always reliable, especially as the Democratic nominee is not finalized. 

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters between Dec. 10 and Dec. 14. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Updated at 11:15 a.m.