It's not even close. And no, that doesn't mean it's time to get complacent—it means it's time to keep the foot on the pedal and watch Donald Trump sweat it out. But if you think the orange menace has been an unusually hot mess these days, maybe it's because he and his campaign know that numbers like those in a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday forecast the very real potential of his political demise. All five top-tier Democrats are clobbering Trump in the poll—four of them by double digits.
- Biden +16 (54%-38%)
- Sanders +14 (53%-39%)
- Warren +12 (52%-40%)
- Harris +11 (51%-40%)
- Buttigieg +9 (49%-40%)
The poll isn't exactly an outlier, either, but rather builds on other polls in recent months that have consistently showed top Democratic candidates besting Trump. A Fox News poll several weeks ago got attention when it showed Joe Biden beating Trump 50%-38%, while Sanders, Warren, and Harris all edged him out by 6 points or more. Perhaps more worrisome for Trump: He didn't break 40% in any of those match-ups.
When that poll surfaced, a Democratic strategist and former spokesperson for Harry Reid noted that, as bad as the Fox poll looked, the Trump campaign was getting worse results. "FWIW- I have been told by one of the few republicans that will talk to me that the campaign has internal polling that is worse than this," tweeted Jim Manley.
No wonder Trump is losing his mind over this polling.
And here's another red flag for Trump from this Q poll: Trump's handling of the economy—his one saving grace—is underwater for the first time since January, 46% approve to 49% disapprove. He doesn’t even break 38% on any other issue: foreign policy, immigration, trade, gun policy, race relations.
In terms of the Democratic race, the poll continues to feature a three-way race among Biden, Warren, and Sanders, with Harris and Buttigieg rounding out the top five.
- Biden: 33%
- Warren: 19%
- Sanders: 13%
- Harris: 8%
- Buttigieg: 4%
Another 10% of respondents said they didn't know.
Mercifully, the September debate has been contained to a single night, so voters will have a chance to see all the top-tier candidates face off against each other on one debate stage.