Joe Biden has a commanding lead in the Democratic presidential primary race — holding on to an advantage that appeared shaky after his first debate, a new Fox News poll showed.
In the survey released Thursday, Biden captures 33% support among Democratic primary voters, more than double the second-tier competitors, which include Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at 15%, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., (12%), and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. at 10%.
Another six candidates receive at least 2% support: South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, with 5%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Andrew Yang at 3% a piece, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke each at 2%.
All others receive 1% or less.
Twenty candidates face off next week in Detroit in battleground Michigan for the second Democratic primary debate. Sanders and Warren will headline the Tuesday night debate, while Biden and Harris will lead Wednesday's.
The Fox News survey was the second debate-qualifying poll released Thursday to show Biden well ahead of the field. A Monmouth University poll in South Carolina had the former vice president in a dominant lead, buoyed by black voters, who are a majority of the Democratic electorate in the state, The Washington Post pointed out.
After the first debate last month, Biden's support slipped in a number of polls below 30%, Politico noted. The Fox News poll, which was conducted weeks after those post-debate polls, did not show a drop for him.
The poll surveyed 455 registered voters who said they were likely to vote in the Democratic primary in their state and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.