New poll shows Kamala Harris has plunged 12 points since the 1st debate
The narrative of the 2020 Democratic primary shifted following a strong performance by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in the first debate in June. But two months later, a new poll puts us roughly back where we started.
While Harris experienced a major polling bump following her break-out first debate, during which she confronted former Vice President Joe Biden on busing, she's been slipping ever since the second debate in July. In the latest poll from CNN and SSRS released on Tuesday, she's down to 5 percent support, a 12-point drop from a post-debate June poll that had her at 17 percent support.
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Biden went up seven points in the CNN/SSRS poll compared to the one conducted in June, putting him at 29 percentage points, 14 points ahead of his closest rival, Sanders.
After a performance in the second Democratic debate that clearly did not make as much of an impression on voters as her first, Harris will next have a chance during the third debate in September, which will now have at least 10 candidates. With this CNN poll, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro has met the qualification requirements. Should just one more candidate qualify, the debate will be split into two nights again, meaning Harris may or may not get another rematch with Biden.
CNN's poll was conducted by speaking to 1,001 adults nationally over the phone from Aug. 15-18. The margin of error is 6.1 percentage points. Read the full results at CNN.
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