Monmouth University dismisses its own poll as an 'outlier' after it showed Biden's lead was erased

Monmouth University has issued a statement dismissing its latest poll as an "outlier," after it showed Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden appeared to have lost his perceived lead in the race. 

What are the details?

On Monday, Monmouth released a national poll showing Biden was in third place behind fellow contenders Sens. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), in a statistical tie. TheBlaze's Aaron Colen reported that "it's Biden's drop from the previous [Monmouth] poll that stands out: in June, Biden held the lead at 32 percent according to a Monmouth poll, dropping to 19 percent within just a few months.

Statement from poll director @PollsterPatrick
regarding this week's poll: [date corrected] pic.twitter.com/Xelpw1pt9j

— MonmouthPoll (@MonmouthPoll) August 28, 2019

Immediately following the results of the second survey, poll director Patrick Murray told The New York Times, "The main takeaway from this poll is that the Democratic race has become volatile. Liberal voters are starting to cast about for a candidate they can identify with. Moderate voters, who have been paying less attention, seem to be expressing doubts about Biden."

Now, Murray says he does not have confidence in the results of the second survey.

Wednesday, Murray issued a statement dismissing Monday's poll as an "outlier," echoing a claim from the Biden campaign.

"As other national polls of 2020 Democratic presidential race have been released this week, it is clear that the Monmouth University Poll published Monday is an outlier," Murray wrote. "This is a product of the uncertainty that is inherent in the polling process." 

Fox News reported that the Biden campaign had pushed back against the poll ahead of Monmouth's renunciation, saying, "this poll is an outlier that is contradicted by every measure of the national average."

Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson told the outlet, "you can quickly over-read into this poll," but added, "if I was the Biden campaign there are lots of things that would keep me up at night. This poll isn't one of them."