Poll Update: Where the Democratic Candidates Place ahead of First Debate

As the Democratic candidates prepare for their first debate, who leads the race for the party’s nomination? We took a look at recent polls* by CBS News, IBD/TIPP, and USA Today/Suffolk University; all three place the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in first place by double-digit margins. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders comes in second for two of the polls, although IBD/TIPP places Vice President Joe Biden second, even though the latter has yet to announce whether he’ll join the fray. The CBS poll noted that if Biden decides not to run, Clinton’s lead over Sanders increases. The remaining candidates poll well behind.

*How do we choose which polls to feature? We select firms receiving a B-grade or higher from FiveThirtyEight’s pollster ratings. In this case, we selected the three most recent polls by the highest-rated firms.