Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke, Kamala Harris in new 2020 poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over the next closest contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to the results of a new poll released Thursday.

The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University, adds more supporting evidence that Biden is the clear frontrunner in a crowded Democratic primary field, with 29 percent of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters saying they will vote for him in the 2020 primary if throws his hat into the ring. Biden continues to mull a bid for the White House in 2020, and there is speculation he is close to entering the crowded Democratic presidential field.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., trails Biden in second place with the support of 19 percent of Democratic respondents. Beto O'Rourke, the former Democratic congressman from Texas who jumped into the 2020 race this month following his losing bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in November's midterm elections, places third in the poll with 12 percent of Democrats surveyed saying they would vote for him to be their 2020 presidential nominee.

Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, whose national profile and support have increased dramatically since he announced the formation of his exploratory committee, was tied for fifth place with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, each earning the support of 4 percent of Democratic voters. Buttigieg has not officially announced his presidential bid, but he revealed earlier this month that his campaign had met the 65,000 individual donor threshold put in place by the Democratic National Committee, guaranteeing him a spot in the party's first debate for the 2020 presidential nomination.

Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota were the favorite of two percent of Democratic respondents.

"Hungry for a candidate to take on President Donald Trump, Democrats and Democratic leaners put the three B's – Biden, Bernie and Beto – at the top in a race where age, race and gender take a back seat to electability and shared views," Tim Malloy, the poll's assistant director, said in a statement.

The poll may give Democrats a reason to feel optimistic about the future: 53 percent of those surveyed said they would not vote to reelect President Donald Trump for a second term in the 2020 general election if he is the Republican Party's presidential nominee, regardless of which Democrat wins the primary. Another 30 percent of voters said they would vote to give Trump another four years in the Oval Office, and 13 percent said they would consider voting for the president. The poll suggests Republicans and Republican-leaning voters remain loyal to Trump, with 77 percent of Republicans saying they would definitely vote for him in 2020. Meanwhile, one percent of Democrats and 21 percent of independent voters said they would vote to reelect the president.

The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,358 registered voters nationwide was conducted between March 21-25 using random digit dialing with live interviews calling landlines and cell phones. The margin of error for the sample is plus or minus 5.1 percentage points.