Biden tops Dems pack in Michigan, Sanders second: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden is leading the field of Democratic presidential candidates and likely candidates in Michigan, according to a new poll.

The Emerson College poll shows Biden leading the field with the backing of 40 percent of registered voters surveyed. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is a distant second, with 23 percent.

Biden has not yet announced a bid for the White House but is reportedly likely to enter the race.

{mosads}Behind Biden and Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) received 12 percent of the vote and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received 11 percent. No other candidates received more than 5 percent, the poll found.

If Biden does not jump into the race, respondents shift a large number of votes to Sanders, according to the poll. The poll shows that 42 percent of registered voters would back Sanders if Biden does not become an option, followed by Harris, at 23 percent, and Warren, at 18 percent.

Sanders scored an upset victory in 2016 over eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Michigan’s Democratic primary, beating the former secretary of State by just more than 1 point.

President Trump went on to win the state in the general election over Clinton, the first time the state had gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984.

The Emerson poll also showed each of the leading Democratic candidates defeating Trump in Michigan in a potential 2020 matchup.

Biden would defeat Trump by the widest margin, according to the poll, with 54 percent of the vote to Trump’s 46 percent.

The poll’s results are based on interviews with 743 registered voters in Michigan from March 7 to 10. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.