Warren edges ahead of Biden in latest U.S. polls

U.S. Former Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren participate in the third Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign in Houston, Texas, September 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has squeezed ahead of long-time front-runner Joe Biden for the first time, according to compiled polls released on Tuesday.

The race for the party nomination has tightened sharply since May as Biden dipped in the polls and Warren's support soared.

The RealClearPolitics poll average put Warren on 26.6 percent and Biden on 26.4 percent in the Democratic primary contest to take on President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Warren, 70, a progressive senator from Massachusetts, has campaigned strongly through the summer, while centrist former vice president Joe Biden, 76, has been hit by health concerns and gaffes.

Biden in recent weeks has also been caught in the maelstrom as Trump faces an impeachment inquiry over accusations he pressed Ukraine for damaging information on Biden and his son.

Trump denies claim he pressed Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden's son

Senator Elizabeth Warren (C) during a United Auto Workers (UAW) strike in Michigan, U.S., September 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

Warren raised 24.6 million U.S. dollars in third-quarter contributions to her White House campaign, her office said last week, easily beating Biden and rivaling fellow progressive Bernie Sanders.

The July-to-September haul came from 943,000 donations with an average contribution of 26 U.S. dollars, Warren's team said.

Warren has prided herself on not accepting contributions from corporations or holding closed-door fundraisers with wealthy donors.

Biden raised 15.2 million U.S. dollars for the quarter, while Sanders, who is third at 14.6 percent in the polls, raked in 25.3 million U.S. dollars for the period, the most of any Democratic 2020 candidate.

Sanders, 78, was released from hospital on Friday three days after suffering a minor heart attack, when he was in Las Vegas to campaign and was taken to a hospital at night on October 1 for evaluation.

"I certainly intend to be actively campaigning," he said Tuesday, suggesting however he may cut back his schedule.

"I think we can change the nature of the campaign a bit, make sure that I have the strength to do what I have to do.

"We're gonna, you know, probably not do three or four rallies a day," he told reporters after visiting a cardiologist in his hometown of Burlington, Vermomt.

The top 12 contestants will compete on October 15 in a fourth televised debate in Ohio, with another debate in Georgia on November 20.

Source(s): AFP