Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden may be losing his frontrunner status after a new Iowa poll this week showed him in third place behind Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), the Washington Examiner reported.
Biden arrived in Iowa on Wednesday and made just four appearances over two days, fewer than Democrat rivals Harris, who made five stops and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), who made nine appearances over three days. Two of Biden’s appearances were at a parade and a baseball game.
Biden slammed President Donald Trump in remarks on July 4th, but appeared to be sticking to his pledge not to attack fellow Democrats. He also avoided getting into policy specifics.
“It’s not enough to be against the way Donald Trump conducts himself — the way he assaults the dignity of women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals — we have to be against his policies that are further entrenching economic inequality in this nation,” Biden said in a speech in Marshalltown. “That too is an attack on our democracy — on our liberty. That’s the message I’ve been taking all across this nation.”
Can Biden Keep the Lead?
Biden still leads the pack in national polls — though his lead slipped dramatically after the debate — but a new A Focus on Rural America poll of likely Iowa Democratic voters showed Warren with 20%, Harris at 18%, and Biden in third place at 17%. The numbers are close enough to be within most polls’ margin of error, but are a far cry from his comfortable 34% lead before the first round of televised debates.
A Biden supporter told the Washington Examiner that she liked his speech in Marshalltown but thought he seemed “a bit tired.” She also said that she was “a little worried” about his debate performance.
Another Iowa Biden supporter said he’s now considering Harris and others, telling Reuters, “The debate changed things for me quite a bit. I was really surprised Biden wasn’t prepared for some of those attacks. He didn’t handle it.”
“I had been wavering on Biden, but the debate took him off my list,” yet another Iowa Democrat told Reuters. “It’s time for new leadership.”
Biden, however, said he was unconcerned about the debates because he’s “still way ahead,” and addressed Harris’s debate criticism without attacking her. “Look, she’s a good person, she is smart as can be, and she feels strongly,” he said of Harris, adding that her remarks “came out of nowhere” and “didn’t seem to be something at all consistent with anything I’d been accused of before.”
Biden’s Challenge
It will be a challenge for Biden, now 76, to come across as energetically and passionately as other candidates who are decades younger. The gaffe-prone Democrat is billing himself as the moderate in the race, but doesn’t hesitate to support every radical policy this pack of candidates puts forward, from forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions to free health care for illegal immigrants.
Although it’s a largely unspoken dynamic, he’s also a straight white male in a party that has become all about “diversity.” Will Democrats disappointed that Harris, Warren or Buttigieg don’t get to represent their diverse interests be able unite behind Biden, another “old white guy?”
I’m not entirely sure it matters which of the candidates ends up opposite Trump once these primaries run their course. Of course, anything can happen in the next 17 months, and Democrats will be engaging in every dirty trick they can think of to lower Trump’s support.
But as things stand right now, Trump is a formidable opponent who boasts one of the strongest economies on record and growing public support, despite the media barrage of hate and lies. It’s going to be difficult for any Democrat to defeat him.
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