Biden, Sanders lead Democratic field in early primary states

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lead the Democratic field in the early primary states, according to this week’s Morning Consult poll.

The poll released Monday found Biden earned 29 percent support and Sanders stood at 24 percent support in the states with early primaries or caucuses: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. 

The two also hold the lead in the national poll with Biden earning 31 percent and Sanders getting 22 percent. Biden has been on an upswing nationally this month after receiving 29 percent backing in a poll Dec. 1. Sanders has also risen 2 percentage points since Dec. 1.

They also received the two highest favorability percentages with Biden getting 70 percent and Sanders getting 75 percent.

Overall, Biden and Sanders have been the top two frontrunners in the Morning Consult poll for the majority of the campaign.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) followed the two frontrunners in the early states, receiving 15 percent backing. Billionaire Tom Steyer slid into fourth place with 10 percent, followed by South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 9 percent.

Behind them, entrepreneur Andrew Yang got 4 percent support, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) got 3 percent, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg earned 2 percent and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) got 1 percent. 

The Morning Consult poll surveyed 13,384 registered voters in between Dec. 9 and 15, and has a margin of error of 1 percentage point. The early voting states poll surveyed 588 voters and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. 

The poll comes as candidates prepare for the December debate Thursday.