Backed by $400 million in spending to build up his name recognition, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has surged into second place in the 2020 Democratic presidential race and is robbing onetime front-runner Joe Biden of his base of support, according to a new survey.
“Biden is hurting,” said pollster Jonathan Zogby.
In his latest national survey, Sen. Bernie Sanders has a hold on the lead, with support from 24% of likely Democratic primary voters.
Bloomberg is second, with 20% and Biden at 18%, according to a Zogby Analytics survey provided to Secrets.
Bloomberg, said Zogby, “has jumped into second place with 20% support, and has surpassed the damaged candidacy of former vice president Joe Biden.”
His poll is the latest to show the impact of Bloomberg’s frenzied spending to promote his campaign and Biden’s lackluster effort in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
As the race becomes a Bloomberg-Sanders fight to the finish, Zogby said that Biden was the victim and that voters who once backed his candidacy were switching to Bloomberg — not Sanders.
“Bloomberg is taking all of Biden’s support among key groups: mainly women, moderates, older voters, suburban voters, suburban women, and college-educated voters,” Zogby said.
He added that Biden was promising to do better in the upcoming primaries, but added that it was fast becoming a do-or-die performance.
Biden, said Zogby in his analysis, “is banking heavily on strong support from African American voters in South Carolina, and if he doesn’t win it outright his campaign could be game over.”
