Former Vice President Joe Biden narrowly sits atop the field of Democratic presidential candidates among likely New Hampshire primary voters, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris closing the gap, according to a poll from St. Anselm College.
When asked which candidate they would vote for if the Democratic primary was held today, 20.8 percent of respondents chose Biden, two percentage points lower than in the college's previous poll in April.
Close behind Biden, Sens. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren polled at 17.5 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively. Harris leaped 11 percentage points from the previous poll, carried out before the first Democratic primary debate last month; Warren improved by 8 points.
“Joe Biden is a familiar, well-liked and well-respected figure in the Democratic Party,” said Neil Levesque, executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. “But between them, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren demonstrate a significant appetite among younger, more liberal voters for a progressive standard-bearer to send against President Donald Trump.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Pete Buttigieg received 11.5 percent support, a slight uptick from the April poll. He also led the pack in second quarter fundraising, receiving $25 million.
Sen. Bernie Sanders saw the biggest drop off since April, falling 6 percent to just under 10 percent.
Among respondents who classified themselves as "very liberal," nearly 23 percent said they would likely vote for Warren, while some 14 percent said they would vote for Sanders.
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Warren and Harris lead among voters who say they are “extremely interested” in the 2020 election, with each receiving 20 percent support from that group. Biden received 19 percent support from that group.