Harris making gains among Dems: poll

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has seen her poll numbers rise among Democrats since she announced her bid for the White House, according to a poll released Wednesday.

A Politico/Morning Consult poll showed that 10 percent of the Democratic voters surveyed said Harris is their preferred candidate, up 3 points from 7 percent in a survey at the start of January.

{mosads}Harris ranked third in the poll among potential Democratic presidential candidates, behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Health care seems to be a focus of those surveyed.

The poll found that 57 percent of Democrats said they would be more likely to support a candidate who is in favor of “Medicare for all.” Less than a quarter of Democrats said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backs Medicare for all over preserving the Affordable Care Act, according to the poll.

Harris, who on Jan. 21 announced her plans to run for president, shifted the conversation around Medicare for all when she embraced the concept during a Monday town hall event in Iowa. The senator suggested that the country should consider getting rid of private insurance to make the program work.

Some prospective presidential candidates, including Howard Schultz and Michael Bloomberg, have criticized the concept. The former Starbucks CEO and former New York City mayor both suggested the proposal would not be affordable.

Wednesday’s poll surveyed 1,997 voters from Jan. 25-27. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

A number of Democrats have already entered the 2020 race or formed exploratory committees, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.

The field is expected to grow in the coming months, with Biden, Sanders, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bloomberg among those weighing a bid for the Democratic nomination.