Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Kamala Harris Up, Biden (Way) Down in Latest California Poll
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
July 30, 2019

Share

A new poll gives Sen. Kamala Harris a narrow lead among Democratic voters in her home state of California, but otherwise shows the race is still up in the air.
That’s probably terrible news for Joe Biden.


Ben Christopher
CalMatters

And the poll is also bound to disappoint Pete Buttigieg. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, raised more money in California in the past quarter than any other Democratic contender, yet he lagged in fifth place among the state’s likely Democratic voters.
The new survey from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found 19% of Democrats and left-leaning independents who are likely to vote say they would cast their ballot for Harris if the presidential primary were held today.

Biden Slips to Fourth Place

There’s still seven months before they could actually cast those ballots, but the state’s March 3 primary is a few months earlier than it has been in years past. And that seems certain to give voters here an earlier, more consequential say about who will take on President Donald Trump in the general election.
Just behind Harris in the poll were Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 15% of respondents (and a top performance among college graduates), and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 12%.
Biden, the former vice president who has long been considered the candidate to beat in the race, came in fourth with 11%.
The poll has an error margin of plus or minus 4.4%.


“You can’t really say that the person who we thought was going to be the frontrunner — Biden — is. Because clearly, he is not in California,” said Mark Baldassare, president of the institute. “He’s not where people thought Biden would be. Maybe it’s less surprising that Harris would be off to a good start in a state where she’s run for office several times.”

Biden the Most Vulnerable to Bad News

Monday’s poll is one of a series of lackluster indicators for Team Biden in California. A Quinnipiac University survey from earlier this month found Biden had slipped from his first-place post in that poll among registered Democrats, losing ground to Harris.
The former vice president also struggled with individual donors in California. So far in 2019, he’s raised less with that group than Harris, Buttigieg and Trump.
Of all the candidates, Biden may be the most vulnerable to a bit of bad news. A number of surveys have found his appeal among Democratic voters is based on the perception that he is the most “electable.” Today’s new poll putting him in fourth place puts a crack in that presumption of inevitability.
But even with California’s newly prominent place on the primary calendar, it’s not clear how much that will matter. A fresh Quinnipiac poll shows Biden still leads among Democratic voters nationwide.
And with more than half a year to go before the first California votes are cast, there is still plenty of time for voters to make up their minds. According to the Public Policy Institute’s poll, a quarter of likely Democratic voters have yet to do so, including nearly a third of self-described moderates and conservatives.
CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

UP NEXT

2 Killed and 5 Hurt in Florida State University Shooting; Gunman in Custody

UP NEXT

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump Plan to End Birthright Citizenship

UP NEXT

Popular AIs Head-to-Head: OpenAI Beats DeepSeek on Sentence-Level Reasoning

UP NEXT

Al Sharpton Calls Meeting With Target’s CEO Amid DEI Backlash ‘Very Constructive and Candid’

UP NEXT

Former Pentagon Spokesman Tied to Online DEI Purge Was Asked to Resign

UP NEXT

The Kings Agree to Hire Scott Perry as General Manager, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

Shooting at Florida State Sends Students Running; Nearby Hospital Says It’s Treating People

UP NEXT

Actor Michelle Trachtenberg Died of Complications From Diabetes, Says NYC Medical Examiner

UP NEXT

Zoom Down for Thousands of Users, Downdetector Shows

UP NEXT

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

6 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

7 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

7 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

8 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

8 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

9 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

9 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

9 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

9 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

9 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

Pacific Gas & Electric customers are already paying some of the nation’s highest rates for electricity, and their bills could be g...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

6 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
6 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

6 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
7 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
7 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

8 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

8 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend