Bloomberg Overtakes Harris in New Poll as Biden Keeps Big Lead

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg meets Virginia House Delegate-Elect Nancy Guy (not seen) at a coffee shop in Norfolk, Virginia on Nov. 25, 2019. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg jumped past Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and other established presidential contenders to fifth place in a new nationwide poll of the Democratic primary race.

Bloomberg garnered 6 percent support in the Hill/Harris X poll. Harris was tied with 2 percent with four others.

Bloomberg had not gotten over 3 percent in any nationwide polls before the latest one.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was first with 31 percent, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with 17 percent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 15 percent, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 9 percent.

The second most recent poll, from the Economist and YouGov (pdf), had Biden on top with 23 percent, Warren with 17 percent, Sanders with 15 percent, and Buttigieg with 12 percent. Harris had 4 percent. Bloomberg garnered 3 percent, as did entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

Two candidates dropped out of the race in recent days but the field remains large, with some 16 people remaining.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick arrives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston for the 2017 Profile in Courage award ceremony on May 7, 2017. Steven Senne, File/AP Photo

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Nov. 30, 2019. Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Fellow newcomer Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, has seen low polling, getting 1 percent or less in every poll since he announced his bid for the presidency.

The Harris X poll included 1,001 registered voters polled between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1 and had a margin of error of plus/minus 3.1 percentage points, but just 437 Democratic voters or Independents who lean Democratic. The margin of error was not listed for the questions posed to only that subsample.

The YouGov poll was conducted among 1,500 respondents with a margin of error of plus/minus 2.8 percent between Nov. 24 and Nov. 26. The Democratic candidate questions featured 550 voters; the margin of error among the subsample was also not listed.

The polls in a few early voting states have tilted towards candidates besides Biden, with Buttigieg on top in recent polls in Iowa and Buttigieg and Sanders trading the top place in surveys in New Hampshire. But Biden’s lead has remained strong in South Carolina and Nevada, according to surveys.

Asked by YouGov about Bloomberg, some 48 percent had a very unfavorable or somewhat unfavorable opinion of him. Another 32 percent of respondents said they didn’t know; just 21 percent said they had a favorable opinion of him. Sanders (40 percent), Biden (39 percent), and Warren (36 percent) had the highest levels of favorability.