Biden slips, maintains edge in Nevada primary: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden saw his lead against other Democratic presidential contenders drop to just six points in the early caucus state of Nevada.

Biden has the support of 29 percent of voters in the Silver State according to a new Morning Consult poll first reported on by The Nevada Independent, a drop from 38 percent from the same poll in May.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) comes in at second at 23 percent, though his support dropped by 2 points.

{mosads}Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is in at third with 11.5 percent, a 3.5 percent bump in two months, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) gets 10.5 percent support, a 2.5 percent increase since May.

No other candidate breaks double digits in the survey. 

The state’s nominating contest is a crucial test for candidates to test their support among Hispanic voters, who made up just shy of 20 percent of the caucus attendees in 2016.

The survey resembles drops Biden has seen in other statewide and national polls since his faulty debate performance in June when he was confronted by Harris about his comments about cooperating with segregationist senators during his time in Congress and past opposition to federally-mandated busing as a way to integrate schools.

But a Fox News poll released this week showed him with a lead of 18 points over the rest of the primary field, resembling results from pre-debate surveys.

Friday’s survey is also an ominous sign for former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, the only Hispanic running in the primary, who gets 2 percent support.

Castro has banked on a strong showing at the early caucus to boost his momentum deeper into the nominating process, though he has consistently found himself in the middle or bottom tiers of Nevada surveys.

The Morning Consult poll surveyed 749 voters in the first three weeks in July and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent.