US Senator Bernie Sanders has been steadily climbing in popularity this year and is for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national poll.
The online poll, released Thursday, shows that 20 per cent of registered Democrats and independents would back Senator Sanders over 11 other candidates to run against President Donald Trump, an increase of 2 percentage points from a similar poll that ran last week.
Another 19 per cent supported Mr Biden, 12 per cent said they would vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren, 9 per cent backed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and 6 per cent said they would support Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Senator Sanders and Mr Bloomberg have increased their level of support in each of the last three Reuters/Ipsos polls starting in mid-December, while support for Mr Biden, Ms Warren and Mr Buttigieg has remained flat.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden makes a point during the recent debate. Source: AP
The poll also shows that about one in five potential primary voters remains undecided. And among those who have picked, nearly two out of three say they are open to changing their minds.
Senator Sanders, an independent who built a national network of fervent supporters while running for the party's nomination in 2016, has consistently ranked among the most popular candidates since he entered the race.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks as former Vice President Joe Biden looks on during the debate. Source: AP
The poll shows that standing does not appear to have been hurt by his recent confrontation with Ms Warren over Senator Sanders' views of women and politics.
Ms Warren, who is aligned with Senator Sanders on a variety of issues, has accused him of telling her in 2018 that a woman could not be elected president. Senator Sanders disputes that claim, and the two sniped at each other after this week's presidential debate.
Elizabeth Warren has been involved in a stoush with Senator Sanders. Source: AP
The dispute has the potential to reconfigure a Democratic nomination race that has stagnated for months with no single candidate emerging as the clear front-runner.
So far, Senator Sanders' and Ms Warren's support remains unchanged among women, with about 15 per cent supporting the senator and 11 per cent supporting Ms Warren.
With wires...
