Despite his much-maligned performance in the first debate, former Vice President Joe Biden has maintained his front-runner status — in fact, he’s actually expanded his lead over his Democratic rivals, according to a recent Emerson Polling study. Though he’s more than doubled his advantage over the next-highest polling Democratic candidates since June, Biden’s lead in a prospective head-to-head matchup against President Trump has diminished.
After California Sen. Kamala Harris suggested Biden was racially insensitive for praising two anti-desegregationist Democrats and opposing federally mandated busing to promote school integration, the former gained ground among Democratic voters while Biden lost four points. The net result was Harris moving into second place, tied with democratic socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 15%. Though Harris found her prospects improved, because of Sanders’ collapse (from 27% in June), Biden’s lead over the field significantly widened, from 7 points to 15 points.
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