Kamala Harris leaps to a statistical dead heat with Joe Biden in new poll taken after their clash over race at Democratic 2020 debate
- Kamala Harris surged in polls post-debate, reaching levels that rival front-runner Joe Biden
- A new Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday shows Harris with 20 per cent support compared to the former vice president's 22 per cent
- The boost comes after Biden and Harris engaged in a heated exchange on stage Thursday at the first round of primary debates in Miami
- Harris, one of the only two black candidates, confronted Biden about his comments regarding segregationist lawmakers
- She also shared her personal experience with bussing to integrate her school in California
- Elizabeth Warren came in third with 14 per cent, Bernie Sanders with fourth with 13 per cent, and Pete Buttigieg as fifth with 4 per cent support
- No other candidate topped 3 per cent support from likely Democratic primary voters
Kamala Harris has jumped in popularity in a new poll released Tuesday that show her reaching levels of support that rival even front-runner Joe Biden.
The California senator earned 20 per cent support among likely Democratic primary voters compared to former Vice President Biden’s 22 per cent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
Harris’s boost has launched her to second place from her previous rankings that couldn’t break out of the single-digits.
In last month’s Quinnipiac poll of the two dozen Democrats running for president, Biden held 30 per cent support while Harris wasn’t even in the top three, earning only 7 per cent support.
Senator Kamala Harris saw a huge poll boost following the first Democrat debates, and she now rivals front-runner Joe Biden
Harris and Biden had a heated exchange on stage Thursday when Harris confronted the former vice president about his relationship with segregationist lawmakers and former anti-bussing stance
The new poll was conducted June 28-July 1 – the days following the first Democratic primary debates, where Harris earned the national spotlight after a heated exchange with the former vice president.
Harris, who appeared during the second day of the two-night debate event in Miami last week, was widely viewed as the victor of the night. She appeared on stage with nine other candidates on Thursday, including Biden and former No. 2 candidate Bernie Sanders.
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The post-debate poll has Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in third place with 14 per cent support, followed by Sanders with 13 per cent and the fifth most popular candidate in the poll is South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 4 per cent.
No other candidate topped 3 per cent support, showing an even larger margin between the top tier candidates and others running in the primary than previously.
Sanders, the oldest candidate at 77-years-old, did not support bussing 45 years ago and did not face harsh attacks on stage Thursday, but still dropped to fourth place.
A CNN poll had him at 14 per cent, showing almost the exact same results as the Quinnipiac poll.
Elizabeth Warren (pictured) came in third place with 14 per cent, Bernie Sanders (lower left) fell to fourth with 13 per cent and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (lower right) in fifth place with 4 per cent support. No other candidates topped 3 per cent
Sanders’s senior adviser Jeff Weaver told DailyMail.com that the CNN polling was inaccurate - before all the other polls confirmed that popularity alliances had shifted following the debates.
'If anyone thinks Joe Biden is at 22 percent, they are mistaken,” Weaver said. “That poll is out of step with other post-debate polling like Morning Consult, so I don't place much value on it.”
Biden began to lose steam in his campaign last month after lauding his relationship with segregationist lawmakers and refusing to back down from his comments.
During the debates, Harris called out Biden, saying she didn’t believe he was a racist, but condemned him for his comments about segregationists and shaming him for his decades-old anti-bussing stance.
The only black female candidate shared her personal experience with bussing, opening up about being the second class to be integrated via bussing to her school in California growing up.
Biden pushed back during the debate, claiming his comments about lawmakers who were pro-segregation were taken out of context and adding his views and voting record on bussing were a mischaracterization of how he actually felt about the issue at the time.
Cory Booker, the only other black candidate running for the Democratic primary in 2020, came to Harris's defense, saying that Biden should have admitted he made mistakes in the past
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, the only other black Democratic primary candidate, defended Harris, claiming that Biden should have apologized and admitted he was wrong in the past.
'What we've seen from the vice president over the last month is an inability to talk candidly about the mistakes he made,' Booker told NBC Sunday morning.
'And this is a bad culture where you can't admit mistakes, where you can't speak to your vulnerabilities and your imperfections – we've all had them,' he continued.
He said Biden isn’t up to the task to be the president that takes on race issues in America.
Booker, who appeared on the debate stage Wednesday, hasn't been able to break in to the top five candidates, even in the new poll where Biden, and other candidates, have lost steam.
JOE BIDEN AND THE 28 DEMOCRATS HE RAN AGAINST TO BECOME PARTY'S 2020 CANDIDATE
JOE BIDEN
Age on Inauguration Day 2021: 78
Entered race: April 25, 2019
Career: No current role. A University of Delaware and Syracuse Law graduate, he was first elected to Newcastle City Council in 1969, then won upset election to Senate in 1972, aged 29. Was talked out of quitting before being sworn in when his wife and daughter died in a car crash and served total of six terms. Chaired Judiciary Committee's notorious Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Ran for president in 1988, pulled out after plagiarism scandal, ran again in 2008, withdrew after placing fifth in the Iowa Caucuses. Tapped by Obama as his running mate and served two terms as vice president. Contemplated third run in 2016 but decided against it after his son died of brain cancer.
Family: Eldest of four siblings born to Joe Biden Sr. and Catherine Finnegan. First wife Neilia Hunter and their one-year-old daughter Naomi died in car crash which their two sons, Joseph 'Beau' and Robert Hunter survived. Married Jill Jacobs in 1976, with whom he has daughter Ashley. Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. Hunter's marriage to Kathleen Buhle, with whom he has three children, ended in 2016 when it emerged Hunter was in a relationship with Beau's widow Hallie, mother of their two children. Hunter admitted cocaine use; his estranged wife accused him of blowing their savings on drugs and prostitutes
Religion: Catholic
Views on key issues: Ultra-moderate who will emphasize bipartisan record. Will come under fire over record, having voted: to stop desegregation bussing in 1975; to overturn Roe v Wade in 1981; for now controversial 1994 Violent Crime Act; for 2003 Iraq War; and for banking deregulation. Says he is 'most progressive' Democrat. New positions include free college, tax reform, $15 minimum wage. No public position yet on Green New Deal and healthcare. Pro-gun control. Has already apologized to women who say he touched them inappropriately
Would make history as: Oldest person elected president
Slogan: Our Best Days Still Lie Ahead
AND THE 28 WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN
MICHAEL BENNET, Colorado senator
- Entered race: May 2, 2019
- Quit: February 12, 2019, evening of New Hampshire primary
MIKE BLOOMBERG
Entered race: November 24, 2019
Quit: March 4, 2020, day after Super Tuesday primaries
CORY BOOKER, New Jersey Senator
- Entered race: February 1, 2019
- Quit: January 13, 2020
STEVE BULLOCK, Montana governor
- Entered race: May 14, 2019
- Quit: December 2, 2019
PETE BUTTIGIEG, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Entered race: January 23, 2019
Quit: March 1, 2020, day after South Carolina primary
JULIÁN CASTRO, former Housing Secretary
- Entered race: January 18, 2019
- Quit: January 2, 2020
BILL DE BLASIO, New York City mayor
- Entered race: May 16, 2019
- Quit: September 20, 2020
JOHN DELANEY, former Maryland Congressman
- Entered race: July 8, 2017
- Quit: January 31, 2019
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND, New York senator
- Entered race: January 16, 2019
- Quit: August 28, 2019
TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii congresswoman
- Entered race: January 11 2019
- Quit: March 19, 2020
MIKE GRAVEL, Former Alaska governor
- Entered race: April 2,2019
- Quit: August 2, 2019
KAMALA HARRIS,California senator
- Entered race: January 21, 2019
- Quit: December 3, 2019
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Former Colorado governor
- Entered race: March 4, 2019
- Quit: August 15, 2019
JAY INSLEE, Washington governor
- Entered race: March 1, 2019
- Quit: August 21, 2019
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota senator
- Entered race: February 19, 2019
- Quit: March 2, 2020
WAYNE MESSAM, mayor of Miramar, Florida
- Entered race: March 28, 2019
- Quit: November 20, 2019
SETH MOULTON, Massachusetts congressman
- Entered race: April 22,2019
- Quit: August 23, 2019
RICHARD OJEDA, former West Virginia state senator
- Entered race: November 12, 2018
- Quit: January 25, 2019
BETO O'ROURKE, former Texas congressman
- Entered race: March 14, 2019
- Quit: November 1, 2019
DEVAL PATRICK, former Massachusetts governor
- Entered race: November 13, 2019
- Quit: February 13, 2019, morning after New Hampshire primary
TIM RYAN, Ohio congressman
- Entered race: April 4, 2019
- Quit: October 24, 2019
BERNIE SANDERS, Vermont senator
- Entered race: January 25, 2019
- Quit: April 8, 2020
JOE SESTAK, former Pennsylvania congressman
- Entered race: June 23, 2019
- Quit: December 1, 2019
TOM STEYER, billionaire activist
- Entered race: July 9, 2019
- Quit: February 29, 2020
ERIC SWALWELL, California congressman
- Entered race: April 8, 2019
- Quit: July 8, 2019
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts senator
Entered race: December 31, 2018
Quit: March 5, 2020, two days after Super Tuesday
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, author
- Entered race: November 15, 2018
- Quit: January 10, 2020
ANDREW YANG, entrepreneur
- Entered race: November 6, 2018
- Quit: February 12, 2019, evening of New Hampshire primary
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