Former Vice President Joe Biden is hearing the footsteps of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in Florida, a new poll shows.
Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Business and Economics Polling Initiative (BEPI) released a poll on Wednesday looking at the Democratic presidential primary in the Sunshine State. Biden leads the crowded field with 34 percent with Warren in second at 24 percent. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., places third at 14 percent.
The rest of the field stands in single digits. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg pulls 5 percent followed by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., gets 4 percent while Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam takes 3 percent in his home state. Businessman Andrew Yang and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Tex., pull 2 percent each.
The rest of the field lags at 1 percent or below. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Col., U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Mont., U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hi., New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, all get 1 percent. Former U.S. HHS Sec. Julian Castro, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., businessman Tom Steyer, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-Mary., former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Penn., and author Marianne Williamson all pull below 1 percent.
Back in a FAU poll taken in May, Biden took 39 percent while Warren and Sanders battled for second with 12 percent each.
Biden leads both males--38 percent--and females with 31 percent. Sanders leads with younger voters, taking 40 percent of voters under 29 followed by Biden with 17 percent of them and Warren with 15 percent of them. Biden claims a majority of voters 50 percent and older, taking 57 percent of them.
Most Biden backers--67 percent of them--say they will stick him with him while 52 percent of Sanders supporters and 33 percent of Warren supporters say that about their candidates.
“While Joe Biden continues to lead other primary candidates in Florida, Elizabeth Warren is gathering strength and is becoming a real competitor for the state,” said Kevin Wagner, a professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative.
The primary is scheduled for March 17.
The poll of 407 Florida Democratic primary voters was taken from Sept. 12 through Sept. 15 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.
