Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is becoming the biggest threat to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the only Democratic challenger to notch double digits in a poll of New York voters.
In an analysis, poll expert Ron Faucheux of Washington-based Clarus Research Group said that Sanders “appears to be emerging as the top protest vehicle of this race.”
Many Democrats expected former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to be the second choice of Democrats, but Sanders is settling into that role.
In the Quinnipiac University poll of New York voters, Clinton received 55 percent, Sanders 15 percent and O’Malley just 2 percent.
AP Photo
Faucheux, the former editor of Campaigns & Elections magazine, said in his daily poll analysis:
“This poll includes neither Elizabeth Warren nor home state Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which opens up a lot of room for candidates below Clinton to show their stuff in a big Democratic state. Of them, only Sanders breaks into double digits. He appears to be emerging as the top protest vehicle of this race––which is why he’s pulling not only ‘very liberal’ Democrats––his presumed base, where he gets 25%–– but he also gets 20% of ‘somewhat liberal’ Democrats and even 10% from ‘moderate/conservative’ Democrats. It’s the classic profile of protest candidates––they may not win, but they become a vessel for all sorts of alienated voters.”
NEW YORK 2016: DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Among N.Y. Democratic voters statewide
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY
Hillary Clinton (D): 55%
Bernie Sanders (I): 15%
Joe Biden (D): 9%
Martin O’Malley (D): 2%
Jim Webb (D): 2%
Lincoln Chafee (D): 1%
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
