Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg surged past Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren into third place in a new 2020 Democratic primary poll.
The poll, conducted by The Hill and HarrisX, saw Bloomberg pick up four points (11), while Warren lost ground (9) on frontrunners Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks about affordable housing during a campaign event where he received an endorsement from District of Columbia Mayor, Muriel Bowser, on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held February 3. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Biden maintained 29 percent support, but Sanders, like Warren, dropped two points to 17 percent compared to the previous poll’s findings, recorded January 13-14. The Sanders-Warren feud hit boiled over on January 14 during the CNN-Des Moines Register primary debate, when allegations that Sanders had previously told Warren a woman couldn’t be president were addressed by both candidates. Cameras additionally caught the pair declining to shake hands after engaging in a fiery exchange immediately after the show.
“I think you called me a liar on national TV,” Warren posed to Sanders, who answered, “Let’s not do it right now. You want to have that discussion, we’ll have that discussion.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg appears to be taking a page out of businessman Andrew Yang’s book, and has embarked on an unconventional viral social media campaign, despite failing to qualify for a single primary debate. (Internet Cancels Mike Bloomberg After He Gives ‘Wag The Dog’ A Whole New Meaning)
According to the Real Clear Politics Average, Sanders is currently leading Biden in the first two primary states. He currently holds a three point lead ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses and a nearly ten point lead in the New Hampshire primary.
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg registered 5 percent support in the new Hill-HarrisX poll. Billionaire Tom Steyer and Yang both recorded 4 percent support, and the remainder of the field clocked in at 2 percent or less.