Sanders takes lead in Iowa
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders takes a nominal lead over the slumping Hillary Clinton in the latest Quinnipiac Poll of Iowa Democrats likely to caucus. The survey was released Thursday.
Feel the "Bern."
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent socialist, has pulled ahead of longtime favorite Hillary Clinton in Iowa, according to a new a new Quinnipiac University poll of the state's likely caucus goers.
Sanders is the choice of 41 percent of those who say they plan to attend the caucuses next February, the first votes in the Democratic presidential nomination process, with 40 percent backing Clinton and 12 percent picking Vice President Joe Biden. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley gets 3 percent, and three percent are undecided.
There is a sharp turnaround from Quinnipiac's July 2 poll, which had Clinton at 52 percent support, to 33 percent for Sanders and7 percent for Biden. The new poll comes amid a free-fall for Clinton, the former secretary of state and First Lady, amid controversy over her use of an unsecured private e-mail server while she was the nation's top diplomat.
Sanders and Biden have a higher net favorability rating than Clinton and higher ratings for honesty and empathy. Clinton has the best scores for leadership and having the temperament to handle an international crisis.
Sanders leads Clinton among men, while she has the advantage among women.
"Sen. Bernie Sanders has become the Eugene McCarthy of 2016," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. "He is the candidate of the Democratic left, against his own party's bosses and their prized presidential candidate, Secretary Hillary Clinton.
"Sanders has seized the momentum by offering a message more in line with disproportionately liberal primary and caucus voters."
McCarthy, running against the Vietnam War, came on strong just before the 1968 primaries and embarrassed President Lyndon B. Johnson with his performance in the New Hampshire primary. Brown said it's possible that Sanders is rising too early.
From August 27 – September 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 832 likely Iowa Democratic Caucus participants in live interviews via land lines and cell phones. Results are subject to a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
For more details go to http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.