Former Vice President Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over the rest of the Democratic field of presidential candidates, according to a new CNN poll by SSRS that shows 29% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters saying they back him.
Biden's numbers mark a 7-point gain since a CNN poll in late June, but no other candidates made similar gains. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who enjoyed a bump after she squared off with Biden in the first debate, plunged from 17% in June to just 5% in the current poll.
Biden's nearest competition in the poll came from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who came in at 14%.
The poll was conducted from Aug. 15-18 among 1,001 adults and carries a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points for the full sample and 6.1 points for Democrats and left-leaning independents. The results:
- Biden, 29%
- Sen. Bernie Sanders, 15%
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 14%
- Sen. Kamala Harris, 5%
- Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 5%
- Beto O'Rourke, 3%
- Sen. Cory Booker, 2%
- Julian Castro, 2%
- Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, 2%
- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, 1%
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 1%
- Rep. Tim Ryan, 1%
- Tom Steyer, 1%
- Andrew Yang, 1%
The remainder of the slate came in at below 1%.
Biden's advantage came from:
- Democrats, 31%
- Independents, 23%
- Voters 45 and older, 34%
- Voters 44 and younger, 23%
- Moderate and conservative voters, 34%
- Liberals, 22%
Among liberals, however, the race is more of a three-way tie, with Warren netting 23% and Biden and Sanders getting 22% each. No other candidate hit the 5% mark among liberals.
Biden's numbers were also boosted by voters who said they want a candidate who has the strongest chance of defeating President Donald Trump.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.