A new CBS News battleground tracker poll shows Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden in the first 18 primary and caucus states but trailing in the delegate count.
Warren has a slim 26-25 lead over Biden in the first 18 states, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is at 19%, California Sen. Kamala Harris is at 8%, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is at 6%, and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is at 4%.
Here is how the early states are shaping up, according to the CBS poll:
New Hampshire: Warren 27, Biden 26, Sanders 25
Iowa: Biden 29, Sanders 26, Warren 17
South Carolina: Biden 43, Sanders 18, Warren 14
Nevada: Sanders 29, Biden 27, Warren 18
BIden most ‘presidential,’ but not ‘knowledgeable’:
The poll also shows that 41% of voters think Biden is “most presidential,” compared to 28% for Warren and 19% for Sanders. On the other hand, 42% say Warren is “most knowledgeable,” compared to 24% apiece for Biden and Sanders.
Biden is 76 years old, Sanders is 78 years old, and Warren is 70 years old. More than 30% said Biden and Sanders are “too old” to be president, compared to just 5% who said Warren was too old.
Asked who they would be enthusiastic to support if they became the nominee, 46% said Warren, 38% said Sanders, and just 29% said Biden.
Biden has delegate lead:
Despite Warren’s slight lead in the aggregate poll, Biden has a significant delegate lead according to CBS’ numbers.
If the numbers hold up, Biden would stand at around 600 delegates heading into Super Tuesday while Warren is at an estimated 545 delegates. Sanders currently stands at just 286 delegates despite strong showings in every poll.
“Biden's position is helped by amassing enough delegates from South Carolina and other Southern states, as well as consistently strong showings elsewhere to keep him up in the overall delegate standings — albeit not by much,” CBS News reported.
