Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is enjoying his biggest lead yet over Hillary Clinton, in a new poll of likely primary voters in New Hampshire.
A new WMUR/CNN poll released Jan. 19 has Sanders with a towering 27-point lead over Clinton in New Hampshire, 60-33 percent. Just earlier this month, Sanders only had a 13-point lead over Clinton in the same state.
The poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, surveyed 420 likely Democratic primary voters between Jan. 13 and 18.
Most of the voters in New Hampshire have made up their minds, with 52 percent saying they’ve already decided who they’re going to vote for.
“This poll suggests that our campaign has real momentum and that the American people want to go beyond establishment politics and establishment economics. But it’s just a poll and we take nothing for granted,” Sanders’s campaign manager Jeff Weaver said in a statement, according to ABC News.
In Iowa, Clinton and Sanders are in a virtual tie. Clinton’s campaign has upped the attack on Sanders as a result of the latter’s surge.
“While Senator Sanders tries to make a case on electability based on meaningless polls, Republicans and their super PACs have made clear the candidate they’re actually afraid to face,” said Jen Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director, according to ABC News. “Both Sanders and the Republicans know that Hillary is the candidate who can take them on and ensure the White House isn’t in Donald Trump or Ted Cruz’s hands.”
Palmieri was referring to a recent poll that showed Sanders having a better chance of beating Trump in the general election than Clinton.
Clinton still leads Sanders by double-digits among Democrats nationally, but a victory in New Hampshire could give Sanders valuable momentum.
The voting booths open in Iowa and New Hampshire on February 1 and 9 respectively.
