Joe Biden bounces back in pre-debate poll

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden has opened up a 19-point lead over his nearest competitor for the Democratic 2020 presidential nomination, rebounding from a recent dip, according to a poll released Monday as candidates prepare to square off in the second primary debate.

Mr. Biden was the choice of 34% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 15%, Sen. Kamala Harris at 12% and Sen. Bernard Sanders at 11%, according to the Quinnipiac University poll.

Ms. Harris, who had confronted Mr. Biden at the first debate last month over desegregation busing, had pulled to within 2 points of him in a Quinnipiac poll released earlier this month and taken immediately after that debate.

In that poll, Mr. Biden had been at 22%, followed by Ms. Harris at 20%, Ms. Warren at 14% and Mr. Sanders at 13%.

“In the blink of an eye, the post-debate surge for Sen. Kamala Harris fades and former Vice President Joseph Biden regains his footing among Democratic presidential contenders,” said Mary Snow, an analyst for the Quinnipiac University Poll.

In the new poll, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was next at 6% support. Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and entrepreneur Andrew Yang were tied at 2% apiece, and no other candidate was above 1%.

More than half of respondents — 51% — said Mr. Biden had the best chance of defeating President Trump in a general election. Mr. Sanders was the next-closest, at 10%, followed by Ms. Harris and Ms. Warren at 8% apiece.

“Electability remains his strongest pull. Across the board, Biden remains by far the Democrat seen as having the best chance of defeating President Trump,” Ms. Snow said.

Among voters overall, 54% said they disapprove of the job Mr. Trump is doing, compared to 40% who said they approve.

Fifty-four percent of overall voters also said they will “definitely” not vote for Mr. Trump, compared to 32% who said they will definitely vote for the president in 2020.

The national survey of 1,306 voters was taken from July 25-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The survey included a subsample of 579 Democrats and Democratic leaners, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points for that group.