The debates giveth -- and the debates taketh away.

Kamala Harris jumped into the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates after the first round of televised debates in June, gaining six percentage points in Morning Consult national polling. And now, after the second debates, she’s struggling to stay there, giving back 3 points.

The junior senator from California also saw her net favorability crater -- it’s suddenly down 11 points, significantly more than any other candidate.

Harris was widely considered the winner of the June debates after an impassioned, personal back-and-forth with former Vice President Joe Biden over his views on busing in the 1970s. In the July debates, however, candidates such as Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard put Harris on the defensive with attacks on her record as a prosecutor.

Other than Harris’ drop, the Morning Consult survey shows that the second debates maintained the status quo.

The polling offered more evidence that progressive ideas are dominant in the Democratic Party right now, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders seen as the debates’ winners by a combined 37 percent of respondents. Warren and Sanders are the Democratic presidential field’s foremost proponents of “lefty” proposals such as Medicare-for-All and new taxes on wealthy Americans.

That said, Biden, a centrist, remains the race’s front-runner, garnering support from 33 percent of poll respondents. He’s widely viewed as the candidate most likely to defeat President Donald Trump in a general election.

Sanders and Warren follow Biden nationally, with 19 percent and 15 percent, respectively. Harris is down to 9 percent. Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker each have the backing of 3 percent of respondents.

These support percentages for the candidates are essentially duplicated in polling of the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

Morning Consult surveyed more than 9,000 registered voters online between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4. Take a look at the complete poll and its methodology.

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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