Harris behind in California primary, according to new Berkeley poll
March 2020 primary race remains a "wide-open affair"
June 13, 2019
California Sen. Kamala Harris is running in fourth place among Democratic candidates vying to win the state’s March 2020 presidential primary, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll of 4,435 registered California voters.
The poll, conducted in English and Spanish from June 4 to 10, asked voters their preferences among the crowded field of 18 candidates asked about in the survey.
The results showed that former Vice President Joe Biden had a slim lead in California with 22% of voters, followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who had the support of 18% of voters. Harris fell behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with 13% of voters supporting her. Of those polled, 17% made Sanders their first choice.
Eleven percent of voters said they remain undecided. The margin of error was 3%.
The race tightened when pollsters asked the voters to consider their second-place choices. Combined, Warren was the first- and second-place choice of 35% of voters, while Biden and Harris were each the first or second choice of 34% of voters. Sanders was the first or second choice of 29% of voters.
Mark DiCamillo, director of the IGS poll, which is part of Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, characterized the race as a “wide-open affair.”