- The Washington Times - Friday, October 18, 2019

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden held a 10-point lead over Sen. Elizabeth Warren, according to a survey taken after Tuesday’s debate that showed little immediate movement for the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders.

Mr. Biden was the top choice of 31% of potential Democratic primary voters and caucus-goers, followed by Ms. Warren of Massachusetts at 21% and Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont at 18%, according to the Morning Consult poll released on Thursday. Those results were largely unchanged compared to pre-debate polling.

Sen. Kamala D. Harris was next at 7%, followed by Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, at 6%, entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 3%, and Sen. Cory A. Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas at 2% apiece.

Ms. Warren, who has caught or passed Mr. Biden in some recent polling, had a target on her back at the debate, with candidates such as Mr. Buttigieg pressing her to explain how she planned to pay for her universal “Medicare for All” health care proposal.

Though there wasn’t much immediate movement in the poll, Ms. Warren has gained 8 points of support compared to polling taken before the first debates in Miami in June, while Mr. Biden has lost 7 points of support.

Support for Mr. Sanders, Ms. Harris and Mr. Buttigieg was largely flat compared to June.

The new survey of 2,202 registered voters who said they may vote in a primary or caucus was taken on Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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