2020 Presidential Polls: Bernie Sanders Surges, Passes Joe Biden Ahead Of Iowa Caucus

Bernie Sanders’ numbers continue to rise, with a new poll showing he has edged ahead of Joe Biden just before the start of the Democratic primary.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Friday showed that Sanders had the support of 27 percent of Democratic voters, jumping 6 points since the poll was last taken in December. Biden was just behind at 26 percent, still in a statistical tie with Sanders, but behind for the first time in the race.

No other contender was within 10 points of the leaders. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren had the support of 15 percent of voters and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had 9 percent support, putting him ahead of former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who had 7 percent support.

Biden had led most national polls since even before he officially entered the race last year, but Sanders had remained in second place for the majority of that time and has been closing ground in a series of recent polls.

The survey showing Sanders passing Biden comes just days before the Iowa caucus, which also appears to be moving toward Sanders in recent polling. As The Inquisitr reported, polls showed that the Vermont senator was opening a significant lead over Biden in a race that experts say could set the narrative for the Democratic primary as a whole.

As The Hill noted, however, Sanders could still have a difficult time winning over the state’s more moderate voters.

“Despite Sanders’s [sic] strength in the poll and the loyal following he’s cultivated since his failed 2016 presidential run, the senator could face headwinds in Iowa should moderates ultimately coalesce behind a single candidate,” the report noted. “Fifty-five percent of the caucusgoers surveyed said they prefer a candidate who is ‘more moderate than most Democrats’ while 38 percent said they want one who is ‘more liberal than most Democrats.'”

Sanders has been rising in other early states’ polls as well, including the second voting state of New Hampshire.

The Vermont senator could soon be able to shift more attention to Iowa. He was called back to the nation’s capital to serve as a juror in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Republicans on Thursday signaled that they had the votes necessary to block witnesses from being called and could bring the trial to an end before the weekend. That would allow Sanders to focus his time in Iowa, trying to win over voters before they head to caucuses on Monday.