While Hillary Clinton was expected to increase her lead in the Democratic primary after Vice President Joe Biden decided not to run, a new poll says support for Clinton actually fell slightly since Biden’s departure, and that many of Biden’s supporters instead turned to former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Clinton still has a healthy lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders, 52-33, according to a new New York Times/CBS poll released Thursday. But that’s actually a narrower margin than in mid-October, when she led Sanders 56-32 at a time when Biden was still flirting with a run, and was picking up some support in the polls.
Before Biden opted out, he was picking up as much as 10 to 15 percent in some polls. The NYT/CBS poll from October indicated that support was closer to 4 percent.
But none of that 4 percent went to Clinton once Biden left, and instead, Clinton lost 4 percent. Support for Sanders grew by 1 percent, and support for O’Malley jumped from 1 to 5 percent. The number of undecided people also increased from 4 to 6 percent.
The surprise poll was taken after Clinton was thought to have gained momentum not just from Biden’s exit, but from her recent performances in the first Democratic debate, her testimony in front of the Select Committee on Benghazi, and the South Carolina Democratic primary forum. Clinton’s testimony in the Benghazi committee was seen as especially helpful to Clinton at the time, and had many in the press claiming that she “won” the event.
According to the poll, Sanders supporters are much more enthusiastic and dedicated than Clinton supporters. Fifty-four percent of the Democratic socialist’s supporters say they are paying close attention to his campaign, while only 38 percent of Clinton’s supporters say they have a close eye on the campaign.
Clinton and Sanders will face off for the second time on the debate stage Saturday night at 9:00 pm in the second democratic debate, along with underdog candidate O’Malley. Despite five and a half months on the campaign trail, the former Maryland governor hasn’t been able to get more than about 5 percent in any poll.
