Can Joe Biden maintain his lead over the fall?

It was Labor Day in the United States yesterday, which can only mean one thing—now that the barbecues and swimming at the beach are over, Americans will be tuning in to the 2020 Democratic presidential primary a lot more often. The candidates are entering a fall campaign season that could prove pivotal for their operations, in both good ways and bad.

In terms of polling, the numbers have been quite static. Former Vice President Joe Biden is still the man to beat, having sustained a double-digit lead over his competitors throughout the dog days of summer despite numerous mistakes that would have been fatal to any other candidate. Biden, whose first run for the presidency more than 30 years ago bottomed after he was found borrowing words from the former Labour leader Neil Kinnock during a speech, is a master of the gaffe and self-inflicted wound. There have been more than a few over the last several months, from his fond recollection of working with segregationist senators in the 1970s to his rocky performance during the first presidential debate in June.