Joe Biden’s Ahead in the Polls. Does It Matter?
Don’t read too much into early surveys. The 2020 nomination contest is still wide open.
The leader (for now).
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Democratic nomination field continues to narrow, and continues to be unusually large. I had originally counted 32 people who were doing the things that presidential candidates do a year or more before the Iowa caucuses. With the exits last week of Michael Bloomberg, Sherrod Brown, Eric Holder and Jeff Merkley, we’re down to 18 by my count — a dozen who have formally announced in some way, and six who haven’t.
As of now, Joe Biden leads in nationwide polls; Bernie Sanders leads in at least one betting market; Kamala Harris seems to be first or second in most pundit rankings; and Harris and Cory Booker are the early leaders in endorsements, with Amy Klobuchar not too far behind.