New poll shows Andrew Yang beating Kamala Harris in California

FILE - Democratic presidential candidate entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks next to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., during the Democratic presidential debate inside Texas Southern University's Health & PE Arena in Houston, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. The latest Emerson poll shows that Yang is leading Harris in her home turf of California. less FILE - Democratic presidential candidate entrepreneur Andrew Yang speaks next to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., during the Democratic presidential debate inside Texas Southern University's Health & PE Arena ... more Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 40 Caption Close New poll shows Andrew Yang beating Kamala Harris in California 1 / 40 Back to Gallery

The latest Emerson poll shows Andrew Yang gaining some steam — so much so, he's beating Sen. Kamala Harris in the state she represents.

The poll had Yang at 7%, a slight edge over Harris' 6%, among California Democratic primary voters. Neither are in the top tier of candidates, however; Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., were tied for the top spot with 26%, followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., at 20%.

Yang is polling higher in California than he is nationally, as most recent national polls have him in the 2% to 4% range. The former lawyer and entrepreneur has been campaigning primarily on the idea of universal basic income. He proposes giving every American over 18 a monthly stipend of $1,000.

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Sen. Harris has represented California since 2016. Before that she was District Attorney of San Francisco and Attorney General of California.

"Senator Kamala Harris is in trouble in her home state. If she is unable to gain momentum in Iowa or New Hampshire, come Super Tuesday she might have a similar fate to Sen. Marco Rubio in 2016, when he was unable to win his home state of Florida and dropped out of the race," said Emerson Polling Director Spencer Kimball.

California's primary will be held on Super Tuesday (March 3, 2020) in this election cycle. That's earlier than years past, making winning California's delegates an even larger prize.

Alix Martichoux is an SFGate digital editor. Read her latest stories and send her news tips at alix.martichoux@sfgate.com.