Hillary Clinton now in FIRST PLACE among 2020 Democratic candidates days after refusing to rule out last minute entry
HILLARY Clinton is in first place among 2020 Democrat presidential candidates after refusing to rule out a last-minute entry into the presidential race, according to a new poll.
The ex-Secretary of State is topping the polls - despite not officially standing - according to the survey Harris Poll, released by Harvard University.
With 21 per cent of the vote, Hillary Clinton would be the front runner of the presidential nomination, followed by Joe Biden with 20 per cent.
Third in line is Senator Bernie Sanders with 12 per cent of the vote, with Senator Elizabeth Warren following with nine per cent.
The poll, which surveyed 1,859 voters, placed Clinton on top - but she is yet to announce her running in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
GROWING SPECULATION
In the last month, the former Secretary of State has been hinting that she may run for President again, telling the BBC: "I, as I say, never, never, never say never."
But casting further doubt, she said: "As of this moment, sitting here in this studio talking to you, that is absolutely not in my plans."
The former New York senator was defeated in the 2008 Democratic nomination race by Barrack Obama - who would go on to be President.
Mrs Clinton - First Lady to former President Bill - managed to secure the Democratic nomination in 2016.
LAST-MINUTE ENTRY
But she went on to suffer a shock defeat to Republican Donald Trump - whose electoral success had been given dismal odds.
The Democratic field for 2020 is already packed with candidates, with the former Vice President Joe Biden, a moderate democrat, marginally topping the polls.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed his candidacy in November, but a total of 14 candidates have dropped out of the Democratic primary race so far - blaming their inability to gain support and the lack of cash for their campaigns.
Rumours about Mrs Clinton potentially entering the 2020 race have circulated since her defeat in 2016.
Mark Penn, an adviser and pollster to Bill and Hillary Clinton from 1995 to 2008, predicted last year that she'd return as a "liberal firebrand."
But others have downplayed the prospect of her running again, despite her popularity with the polls.
Donna Soucy, a four-term Democratic state senator in New Hampshire who backed Clinton in 2008 and 2016, told : "I don’t think she’s running again.
"I know the rumours floating out there that that’s a possibility. I don’t believe for a second that it is."
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