Bernie Sanders regained second place in a Monmouth nationwide Democratic primary poll, pushing Elizabeth Warren down to third place.
Sanders secured 21% support in the poll released Tuesday, slightly behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who has 26%. Warren had 17% support and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 8% support.
Warren saw a bump in support through September and October and passed longtime front-runner Biden in some polls. She was thought to have secured support from many voters who previously supported Sanders.
But Warren has sunk back down to third place. A RealClearPolitics average of national presidential primary polls has Biden leading with 28.6%, followed by Sanders at 17.4% and Warren at 14.8%, one of Warren’s lowest averages since early August.
Tuesday’s Monmouth poll was Warren’s lowest support percentage since it found she had 15% in June. She peaked at 28% support in the poll in September.
[Opinion: The Warren free fall is real]
Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a late entry in the race, who has spent record sums on television advertising, made his first appearance in the Monmouth poll since he announced his candidacy with 5% support, in fifth place behind Buttigieg. In January and February Monmouth polls, Bloomberg had 4% and 2% support, respectively.
The Monmouth poll was conducted Dec. 4-8 and included 384 voters who identified as Democrats or lean Democratic. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%.
The poll counts for qualification for the December Democratic presidential debate, but the two candidates who are each just one poll away from qualifying, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, did not pass 4% in the poll. Gabbard said Monday that she would not attend the debate even if she does qualify before the Dec. 12 deadline.
Six candidates have qualified for the December debate: Biden, Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sanders, businessman Tom Steyer, and Warren.
