Former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Fox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio MORE expressed skepticism of early polls as both national and statewide surveys put him at the top of the crowded Democratic primary pack.

“I don’t believe the polls right now, guys,” he told supporters at a New York City fundraiser Tuesday. “This is a marathon. It is true we're ahead. It is true we feel good about where we're going.”

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Biden has emerged as the 2020 Democratic primary’s pacesetter since his launch in April, suggesting Monday that he has raked in nearly $20 million for his presidential bid and topping every primary poll since he entered the race.

However, he noted that his front-runner status comes with consequences, particularly in a field boasting 24 contenders.

“One, there's a target on my back,” he said. “And two, things are going to change. It always does.”

While other primary contenders are eager to take a bite out of Biden’s support, many are at most taking veiled swipes at the former vice president out of fear they could be cast as negative candidates so early in the 2020 cycle if they try to hit him too hard.

Though polls show Biden with substantial margins over both his fellow Democratic candidates and President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE, skepticism abounds over the polls’ predictability after several surveys in 2016 showed Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE with comfortable leads.

“Anyone who believes that the Democratic candidate is headed for a landslide victory right now is doomed to repeat the tragic history of 2016,” Democratic pollster Chris Kofinis told The Hill. “It’s a fundamental mistake for anyone to believe that reality can be projected or predicted based on these polls this far out from the general election.”