Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are ahead but voters bet on Trump

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden are pulling ahead in polling of the Democratic presidential primary, but Americans aren't convinced either candidate can beat President Donald Trump next year.

Biden leads the field among likely Democratic voters with 31% support, while Warren has 25% support, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Sen. Bernie Sanders came in third with 14%.

Biden is ahead among black voters, those over 65 years old, and moderate and conservative Democrats, while Warren is ahead among liberals, those under 35 years old, and voters who support “large-scale change.”

More Democrats — 45% — said Warren is their first-choice candidate than either Biden, at 41%, or Sanders, at 29%.

But more registered voters believe both Biden and Warren would “probably lose” to Trump than those who believe a Democratic candidate can beat the president, according to recent polling by The Economist and YouGov.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden are pulling ahead in polling of the Democratic presidential primary, but Americans aren't convinced either candidate can beat President Donald Trump next year.

Biden leads the field among likely Democratic voters with 31% support, while Warren has 25% support, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Sen. Bernie Sanders came in third with 14%.

The former vice president is winning among African-American voters, voters over 65 years old, and moderate and conservative Democrats, while Warren beats out the competition among liberals, those under 35 years old, and those who support “large-scale change.”

Read more: Elizabeth Warren endorsed two left-wing primary challengers to House Democrats. It could be a risky play to win Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement.

Warren leads both Biden and Sanders in voter enthusiasm — 70% of Democratic voters say they're comfortable with or enthusiastic about her bid.

More Democrats — 45% — said Warren is their first-choice candidate than either Biden, at 41%, or Sanders, at 29%.

But Americans overall don't think any Democratic candidate will beat Trump in 2020, according to recent polling by The Economist and YouGov. 39% of voters said Biden would “probably lose” in a race against Trump, while 34% said he'd probably beat Trump. And 44% said Warren would likely lose to Trump, while 30% said she'd probably beat him. Sanders came in third: 29% of voters said he'd likely beat Trump.

The WSJ/NBC News poll surveyed 506 Democratic primary voters between September 13-16 and has a margin of error of 4.36 percentage points. Similarly, the Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,500 US adults from September 14-17 and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.