A new national poll finds Sen. Bernie Sanders is well ahead of the field of Democratic presidential candidates as the party’s nominating process nears the fourth contest of this cycle.
Sanders, a Vermont independent, stands at 28% among those likely to vote in the Democratic primary, according to a CBS News and YouGov poll released Sunday and conducted after last week’s debate. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren follows at 19% and former Vice President Joe Biden at 17%. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s support stood at 13%, while former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was at 10%. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was at 5% in the poll.
The poll, which was conducted between February 20 and 22 and concluded before Sanders claimed victory in the Nevada caucuses, comes less than a week before Democratic voters in South Carolina head to the polls to participate in the state’s primary.
There is no prior trend from CBS News and YouGov on the national Democratic race, but Warren’s 19% showing appears to be an improvement compared with other polls conducted before last week’s debate in Nevada. In an Ipsos/Reuters poll, which uses a similar online survey methodology, she stood at 9% in polling conducted from February 14 through 17.
The poll also found that nearly two-thirds of registered voters nationwide say they think President Donald Trump probably or definitely will get reelected (65% say so, 35% say that probably or definitely will not happen), even as hypothetical matchups with the top Democratic candidates are tight regardless of who the Democratic nominee is: The margin was 3 points or less in each of six matchups tested.
The CBS News and YouGov survey was conducted from February 20 to 22 among a sample of 10,000 registered voters. The sample includes 6,498 self-identified Democrats and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 points.