Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has constantly been behind former Vice President Joe Biden in the polls for the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Up until the debates, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Sanders had drawn close, with even some polls showing Warren leading over Sanders. Well now, it seems like three's company. California Senator Kamala Harris shot up in the polls sliding right past Warren and is neck and neck with Sanders.
As most of you know, the debate was especially bad for Biden, which showed in the polls. It looks like Harris got the best bump from the night. The virtual three-way tie is bad for Sanders. Sanders has high name recognition because of his run in 2016, so with the name recognition alone, he should be polling higher than where he is. History seems to repeat itself. Smaller or lesser-known candidates tend to go harder in their candidacies and end up winning or coming close to winning. For example, former President Bill Clinton in 1992. A little-known Governor from Arkansas went from the middle of the pack to the nominee and then president.
With lower name recognition, Warren and Harris have more room to grow in the upcoming months. Oh, and don't forget about South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He's been in third or fourth, but he has gone from nothing to qualifying for the important debate in September. The top five polling candidates have qualified for the debates in September already, and have put up impressive donation numbers. Buttigieg has raised an impressive $24.8 million — more money than the front runner, Biden, in 2019's second quarter.
Warren and Harris, if put on the stage together, might clash and it might decide who comes out on top between the two. If Harris performs as she did in the first debate, the ball is in everyone else's court. On "The View" this past Friday, Harris went at Biden yet again saying, "We're on a debate stage, and if you have not prepared and you're not ready for somebody to point out a difference of opinion about the history of segregation in our country and what was necessary to deal with that, which at that time was busing, then you're probably not ready."
The battle for second pace has been the tightest race we have seen so far during the election season. With a debate coming up at the end of this month and in September, we should see at least half of the field be narrowed down to the main candidates. Keep a lookout for Sanders, Warren, and Harris in the next debates, and look to see if Biden can rebound from his performance in the first debate.
