Sen. Bernie Sanders has pulled within six points of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire according to the latest WMUR Granite State poll, which the pollster says is a statistical tie given the survey’s margin of error.
The poll, taken between July 22 and July 30, has Clinton leading Sanders just 42 percent to 36 percent, with only 5 percent supporting Biden. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb were at just 1 percent each.
Clinton entered the race as a prohibitive favorite, but has seen her commanding lead erode as Sanders’ economic populist message gains followers. Soon after Clinton and Sanders both announced their respective candidacies, the former secretary of state led Sanders 51 percent to 13 percent.
Unlike Clinton, Sanders will not take big-money donations or form a PAC, and because of that even his supporters are skeptical of his longterm chances. When asked who the likely eventual winner of the primary will be, 68 percent chose Clinton while only 71 percent chose Sanders. When asked who had the best chance of winning the general election, 67 percent chose Clinton, and 12 percent picked Sanders.
While Clinton’s recent wave of scandals has left her popularity and favorability ratings unchanged at 63 percent among Democrats in the state, Sanders, who comes from the neighboring Vermont, has seen his favorability ratings soar up to 69 percent in the Granite State. Fifty-nine percent say that Sanders is the most progressive candidate, whereas only 19 percent found Clinton to be the most liberal.
WMUR reported, “The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.9 percent, prompting the pollster to call the race a statistical tie.”
