Sen. Kamala Harris is leading in California with 23 percent of the state's Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters supporting her. | Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images 2020 elections Harris, Warren surge in new California poll

SAN FRANCISCO — Home-state Senator Kamala Harris has seized the top spot from Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren is fast gaining traction in delegate-rich California, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday.

The latest Quinnipiac California poll shows Harris leading among 2020 presidential hopefuls, with 23 percent of California Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters now behind her — surging six points since the last Quinnipiac survey in April. Biden, at 21 percent, has lost five points in that same period.


Closely following are Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has remained static at 18 percent, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, now at 16 percent, more than doubling her 7 percent standing in April.

The top tier of 2020 hopefuls is followed in the current poll by South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 3 percent and entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 2 percent. Four Democratic candidates track at 1 percent, with the remainder all polling less than one percent, the poll showed.

On the issue of electability, Biden is the overwhelming favorite, with 45 percent saying that the former VP has the best chance of beating President Donald Trump, compared to just 12 percent for Sanders, 11 percent for Harris and 8 percent for Warren.

Twenty-six percent of California Democrats also say Biden would be the best leader, compared to 18 percent for Harris, 17 percent for Sanders and 14 percent for Warren.

But Harris leads the pack in the excitement factor — with 68 percent of California Democrats saying they would be most excited by her nomination, followed by 65 percent for Warren, 58 percent for Biden and 55 percent for Sanders as the standard-bearer.

Twenty-eight percent say Warren has the best policy ideas, with 20 percent for Sanders, 11 percent for Biden and 9 percent for Harris.

Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Univeristy Poll, said the poll shows native daughter Harris has leapt from "promising contender to prominent player" in her neck-and-neck contest with Biden. “But who do California Democrats pick as the best candidate to take on President Donald Trump?'' he said. "Hands down, it’s Biden.”

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted from July 10–15 of 1,125 California voters with an overall margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points. The survey includes 519 Democrats and Democratic leaners with a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percentage points.

