Biden Slides Among Democrats as Warren Gains: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden’s hold on the top of the Democratic polls has grown a little more tenuous in the latest CNN poll.

The former vice president was at 24% approval among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents in the poll conducted Sept. 5-9, down from 32% in the same poll in May.

His presidential rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, are neck and neck behind him, at 18% and 17%, respectively. Warren has sharply improved her margin from the May poll, when she was at 7%.

The poll comes as the three Democrats face off alongside seven other candidates on Thursday night in Houston for the third Democratic primary debate.

The margin of error in the poll of 908 registered voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic was 4.3 percentage points.

Biden Tops Texas Democratic Poll, Warren Second (6:39 a.m.)

Joe Biden still tops the Democratic primary field in Texas with Elizabeth Warren surging into second place on the eve of the party’s third candidate debate in that state, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Biden is supported by 28% of Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, with Warren following with 18% and both Bernie Sanders and former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke falling to 12%. In an earlier Quinnipiac poll in June, Biden had 30%, O’Rourke was second with 16%, and Sanders had 15% followed by Warren with 11%.

When asked who has the best shot at winning over President Donald Trump in 2020, the former vice president dominates with 50% and Warren and Sanders following with 10% each, according to the poll. Meanwhile, Trump’s job approval rating remains underwater in the state, with 50% of registered voters disapproving compared with 45% who approve.

The poll, which was conducted Sept. 4-9, surveyed 1,410 self-identified registered voters in Texas and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. -- Elizabeth Wasserman

COMING UP

Ten candidates will face off in the third Democratic debate on Thursday in Houston. It’ll be the first time Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren share a debate stage. Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Sanders and Andrew Yang will also participate.

--With assistance from Emma Kinery and Elizabeth Wasserman.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Teague Beckwith in New York at rbeckwith3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley, John Harney

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