24 Democrats are running for president. Voters and donors like only five

There are nearly as many Democrats running for president as there are days in July.
Most Democrats have focused their eyes on only five candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The latest polling reveals that these five candidates are almost consistently in the top five among Democratic primary voters. Our CNN poll of polls reveals Biden is at 25% nationally, Harris is at 16%, Sanders and Warren are at 15% and Buttigieg is at 5%. No other candidate tops 2%.
Now, you could argue that Buttigieg shouldn't be classified with the others in the top five based on the national polling. But other indicators such as early primary state polling and especially fundraising clearly show he's at a different level than those at 2% or below.

Our CNN New Hampshire poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire puts Biden at 24%, Sanders and Warren at 19%, Buttigieg at 10% and Harris at 9%. All five of these candidates are the first or second choice of at least 15% of voters. No other was the first or second choice of more than 5% of voters. We see the same top five in fundraising that we see in the polls. Buttigieg topped the field with $25 million raised this past quarter. He was followed by Biden at $22 million, Warren at $19 million, Sanders at $18 million and Harris at $12 million. None of the other candidates raised $5 million or more.

In primaries without an incumbent running, one of the top fundraisers in the second quarter before the primary (i.e. the quarter that just ended) has gone on to win the nomination almost every time since 1980. With only two exceptions out of 14, the eventual nominee was a top four fundraiser in the second quarter. In fact, the eventual nominee was the top fundraiser a majority of the time.



https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/18/politics/2020-democratic-field-analysis/index.html