Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is already having an impact in the Democratic primary for the White House just a week after launching his presidential bid, a new survey released Monday reveals.
Bloomberg came out in fifth place, ahead of California Sen. Kamala Harris of California in a new Hill-HarrisX national Democratic primary poll.
The survey found that Bloomberg’s support increased from 3 percent to 6 percent among likely Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents.
Meanwhile, Harris fell behind with just 2 percent support, a two-point drop since the prior Hill-HarrisX Poll. Harris has been a candidate for nearly a year.
It’s the first Hill-HarrisX poll since Bloomberg entered the race.
But Bloomberg is still significantly behind the party’s current front-runners, former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Biden is far ahead, with 31 percent support, followed by Sanders with 15 percent support and Warren with 10 percent. Sanders’ support fell by 3 percentage points and Warren’s by 5 points since the last poll.
Buttigieg, who is gaining traction in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, received 9 percent support, a two-point jump from the prior Nov. 16-17 poll.
Businessman Andrew Yang, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro also received 2 percent.
The increase in support for Bloomberg shows that the billionaire’s wallet may be having an impact. He’s already spent roughly $40 million since entering the race to blanket the TV airwaves with ads in key Super Tuesday and battleground states.
The Hill-HarrisX poll surveyed 1,001 registered voters between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.