Harris, Warren tie for third place in new 2020 Dem poll, but Biden still leads - POLITICO

Sen. Elizabeth Warren tied with Sen. Kamala Harris in a post-debate poll asking respondents for whom they would vote in the Democratic primary or caucus in their state. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

The post-debate night bump Kamala Harris has enjoyed at Joe Biden’s expense in recent national surveys abated somewhat in a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday — showing the former vice president leading the pack of 2020 Democrats and the California senator tied for third place.

The poll was conducted using different methodology than some of the other surveys released since last week's debate. Respondents were first asked for whom they would vote in the Democratic primary or caucus in their state — without having read a list of the candidates, as in other polls.

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For that question, Biden leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among respondents who identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, 25 percent to 18 percent, with Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tied for third place at 9 percent.

South Bend (Ind.) Mayor Pete Buttigieg (3 percent) is the only other candidate earning more than 1 percent on the open-ended question, which typically generates a greater share of undecided voters, even when those who are unsure are asked toward which candidate they are leaning.

Poll respondents were then asked the question again — this time presented with a full list of the White House contenders, leading to a modest increase for each of the Democratic hopefuls. Biden still finished ahead of Sanders, 29 percent to 23 percent, while Harris and Warren remained tied for third at 11 percent. Buttigieg is tied with former Housing and Urban Development Sec. Julián Castro for fifth place, at 4 percent.

Also registering on the named ballot test: Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (2 percent), former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (2 percent), Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (1 percent), New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (1 percent), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (1 percent), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (1 percent), self-help author Marianne Williamson (1 percent), Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (1 percent) and entrepreneur Andrew Yang (1 percent).

Harris had surged to second place nationally in a CNN/SRSS poll and a Quinnipiac University survey after an impressive performance at the first Democratic primary debates in Miami, where she was critical of Biden for his record on federally mandated busing and recent remarks about working with segregationist senators.

A poll of Iowa caucus-goers conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University also showed her vaulting within striking distance of Biden in the state, earning 16 percent to the frontrunner’s 24 percent.

But Wednesday’s ABC News/Washington Post survey for now cements her place in the current top-tier of Democratic candidates — a sprawling, two-dozen-person field in which she had previously struggled to supplant more hyped rivals including Buttigieg and, at times, the currently backsliding O'Rourke.

Previous ABC News/Washington Post polls have asked respondents only the open-ended ballot question. Both ABC News and the Washington Post are listed as approved poll sponsors by the Democratic National Committee for the upcoming presidential primary debates, though the DNC has excluded the open-ended results, since the other polls that determine qualification for the debates list all the candidates.

But it wasn't immediately clear whether the listed ballot test would count for debate qualification. If so, it would secure spots on the stage for the third debate for the top five candidates — Biden, Sanders, Harris, Warren and Buttigieg — all of whom have cleared the 2-percent mark in four separate polls released this week. The DNC didn't immediately respond to a request for clarification Wednesday.

The poll was conducted June 28-July 1, surveying 460 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.