Sen. Bernie Sanders has made significant strides toward his goal of cutting into Hillary Clinton’s lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a new poll.
In a Monmouth University national poll released Tuesday, Clinton has the support of 52 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters nationwide, down seven points from the 59 percent she had in December. Sanders jumped up 13 points, and went from 26 percent to 37 percent in the same poll.
However, Clinton still does the best as the Democratic nominee against the Republican field. When asked who would have a better shot at beating GOP front-runner Donald Trump, 44 percent said Clinton would, while only 16 percent said the same about Sanders. Thirty-five percent said both candidates would have about an equal opportunity.
“With a shrinking margin, a strong showing by Sanders in Iowa and New Hampshire could cut Clinton’s national lead even more. However, he would still have to overcome Clinton’s demographic advantage in the ensuing contests,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
The biggest hit Clinton took was among self-described liberals and among female voters. Last month, Clinton held a 26-point advantage over Sanders among self-described liberals, but he trails by just nine points in that demographic now. In addition, she went from holding a 45-point advantage over Sanders among female voters to now holding just a 19-point edge.
However, Clinton’s edge over Sanders among black and Latino voters, who play a large part in the early Iowa and New Hampshire primaries, is still sizable.
The telephone survey of 352 registered Democratic voters was conducted Jan. 15-18 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 5.2 percentage points.
