Biden, who served as vice president under President Barack Obama, pulled ahead as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination following a series of victories in Super Tuesday states last month. While Sanders, a senator from Vermont, had garnered early momentum, Biden surged following a slew of endorsements from moderate Democrats and former presidential contenders.
Now, the former vice president is ahead by 29 points in the latest survey by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal. A full 61 percent of Democratic voters said they were likely to back Biden, while just 32 percent said they’d support Sanders. Another 4 percent said they supported Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the only other Democratic candidate still seeking the party’s presidential nomination.
The poll also asked respondents to rank their level of support, with 52 percent saying they “definitely” back Biden. Meanwhile, exactly half of that amount–just 26 percent–said they were 100 percent behind Sanders campaign. Gabbard was firmly supported by 2 percent.
The numbers have changed significantly from when a similar poll was conducted by NBC and WSJ in February. At that time, the field of candidates was much larger and Sanders was the clear front-runner. Back then, 27 percent of respondents supported the progressive senator while only 15 percent backed Biden.
Billionaire former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Senator Elizabeth Warren had each polled at 14 percent. The two candidates have since suspended their campaigns, with Bloomberg endorsing Biden and Warren declining to endorse either contender.
Both Biden and Sanders would beat incumbent President Donald Trump in hypothetical general election match-ups, according to the polling results. The former vice president would win over the president by 9 points, 52 percent to 43 percent. Sanders’ victory would be narrower by 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent.
Biden has surged to a double-digit lead over Sanders in most recent national polls. The current average of survey data compiled by Real Clear Politics shows the former vice president with support from about 54.4 percent of Democratic voters, compared to Sanders’ 35.4 percent. Gabbard’s average is 2.3 percent.
Sanders and Biden will take the debate stage on Sunday evening at 8 p.m. ET. The senator from Vermont has said he will challenge his moderate rival on a series of policy issues, noting that young voters and Latinos have overwhelmingly backed his campaign at the polls.
“Joe,” Sanders asked in a Wednesday speech, “how are you going to respond to the scientists who tell us we have seven or eight years remaining to transform our energy system?”
“What are you going to do to make sure that all of our people can go to college or trade school regardless of their income?” he continued.
“What are you going to do about the millions of people who are struggling with outrageous levels of student debt?”
