Biden leads 2020 Democratic field by 21 points

Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a commanding lead over the rest of the 2020 Democratic presidential field, according to a new Morning Consult poll. 

The survey, which was released Monday night, found that 40 percent of likely Democratic primary voters favor Biden over the expansive 2020 field. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a distant second, with 19 percent of Democratic voters saying they are in favor of him. 

{mosads}Eight percent of respondents said they would support Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), while 7 percent said they’d favor Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) came in fifth, with 6 percent of Democratic primary voters saying they’d support him. 

The latest Morning Consult survey shows that Biden has gained support since officially launching his presidential campaign in late April. He’s jumped 10 points in the poll since his April 25 launch, Morning Consult found. 

Meanwhile, Morning Consult reported that Sanders experienced a 5-point slide since Biden announced his candidacy. 

Buttigieg has also experienced a 3-point dip since Biden’s launch. 

Morning Consult noted that Biden’s large lead over Sanders expands when accounting only Democratic primary voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the first four states to hold presidential primaries or caucuses. 

Forty-four percent of survey respondents in the early primary states said they’d support Biden, while 20 percent said they’d support Sanders. 

Polls appear to show that Biden and Sanders are the current favorites among the 2020 Democratic field. But recent polls have also shown Biden with a solid lead over the Independent senator. A Harvard CAPS–Harris Poll survey released last week showed Biden with a 30-point lead against Sanders. 

The Morning Consult poll was conducted from April 29 to May 5 among a national population of 15,770 likely Democratic primary voters. It has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.