Biden inches higher atop 2020 Democratic field: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden widened his commanding lead over the Democratic primary field, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Suffolk University, who conducted the poll on behalf of USA Today, found Biden as the top choice of 32 percent of likely Democratic voters, a 2 point increase from June.

{mosads}Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were the only other candidates to register double-digit support in the new survey, at 14 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Warren’s support grew 4 points since the last survey, while Sanders’s dropped by 3 points.

The Massachusetts lawmaker was also the top second-choice candidate, with 17 percent of respondents listing her as their second choice.

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), each at 6 percent, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, at 3 percent, were the only other candidates to clear 2 percent support.

Two candidates who are close to qualifying for the third Democratic primary debate, which requires 2 percent support in four Democratic National Committee-approved polls as well as meeting a donor threshold, did not do so in this survey. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer were each the top choice for just 1 respondent.

Suffolk University surveyed 424 registered voters planning to vote in the Democratic primaries between Aug. 20-25 by landline or cellphone. The margin of error for that sample is 4.96 percentage points.