Bernie Sanders stands alone at the top in California as Mike Bloomberg rises, new poll says
Bernie Sanders stands alone at the top of the pack in California, according to a new poll released Tuesday afternoon by the Public Policy Institute of California.
Sanders holds his widest lead to date among the 2020 Democratic presidential field since PPIC began polling on the state of the race in California in July 2019.
The polls shows him with 32 percent support from likely March 3 Democratic primary voters. He is followed distantly by Joe Biden at 14 percent, Elizabeth Warren at 13 percent and Michael Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg at 12 percent.
Under complex rules set by the state party, candidates need at least 15 percent of the vote statewide or in one of the state’s 53 congressional districts to eligible for a pledged delegate.
Amy Klobuchar got 5 percent support. Tom Steyer captured 3 percent of the vote, while Tulsi Gabbard came in last at 1 percent.
When PPIC most recently surveyed likely voters in January, Sanders was in first place but remained in a statistical tie with Biden and Warren. Sanders, Biden and Warren had support from 27 percent, 24 percent and 23 percent of respondents, respectively.
Sanders is not the only one surging, though.
Bloomberg previously polled at just 1 percent, though his name wasn’t provided as an option for respondents during live interviews, which could have contributed to an undercount. For the first time this election cycle, PPIC interviewers read off the names of all Democratic candidates still in the presidential race.
Sanders and Bloomberg have jawed at each other on the campaign trail recently and will meet each other on Wednesday at the Democratic debate stage for the first time. Bloomberg has long argued Sanders’ proposals are unachievable, while Sanders has accused Bloomberg of trying to buy his way to the presidency.
Buttigieg saw the next biggest gain in the PPIC poll, climbing up by 6 percentage points since January. He has also visited the state more than any other presidential candidate. A Sacramento Bee analysis of candidate visits shows him with 74 appearances, which includes 47 fundraisers.
Meanwhile, Biden and Warren each dropped by 10 points in the last month. Warren hasn’t held a public event in the state in two months, and both candidates have yet to visit the Central Valley.
Klobuchar, who recorded a strong third place performance in New Hampshire, rose by 1 percentage point since January.
California voters appear most concerned about finding someone they believe can beat President Donald Trump in the general election. Following disappointing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, Californians appear more skeptical that Biden is the likeliest to win.
According to PPIC, 57 percent of respondents said they care more about electability, while 33 percent said they’d prefer a candidate whose policy views align closest to theirs.
Regardless of who they plan to support in the primary, 34 percent of respondents thought Sanders was most likely to beat Trump, while 16 percent picked Biden and Bloomberg. This represents a huge drop from the 46 percent Biden had in January. Bloomberg, however, rose from 2 percent last month.
The latest survey comes two weeks before California’s March 3 primary. Nearly 1 million residents have already cast their ballots, and millions more will vote in the remaining days. Tuesday’s poll reported a margin of error of 5.7 percent among the 568 likely Democratic primary voters who participated.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 4:43 PM.