Latest Poll Numbers Show Bernie Sanders Gaining On Clinton, Performing Better Against Donald Trump
The latest polls have revealed that Bernie Sanders continues to dominate Trump in a general election matchup. They also indicate that Sanders is quickly whittling away at Clinton’s lead in California among likely primary voters.
A new Quinnipiac poll shows Sanders leading Trump among all likely voters 48 to 39 percent. A Clinton-Trump matchup is much closer, with Clinton leading by only two points with 40 percent to Trump’s 38 percent.
Inquisitr previously reported that Sanders has a good chance to win California due to the high number of new registered voters and a large number of new Latino/Hispanic voters. Since January, more than 1.5 million people have registered to vote.
The hardest part for Sanders, though, is getting over the primary hump. The Quinnipiac poll puts him behind Clinton at 53 to 39 percent among national Democratic voters.
Even better, in a general election matchup, the Marist poll indicated an even stronger Sanders performance against Trump. While the poll showed Clinton could beat Trump 55 to 31 percent, Sanders slaughters the real estate mogul with 62 percent against Trump’s 28 percent.
The Marist poll also revealed some interesting demographics at work. In the Bay Area and Los Angeles County, Clinton leads, while Sanders is favored in the inland/valley areas. Sanders also has a commanding lead among first-time voters, independents (No Party Preference), voters under 45, Latinos, and men.
In a Sanders-Trump matchup, both the Quinnipiac and NBC/WSJ/Marist polls indicated that fewer people would stay home, vote for third party candidates, or do not know who they would vote for, an interesting facet of just how divided the Democratic primary race has become.
For example, the Quinnipiac poll shows that a total of 14 percent of people combined would either vote for a third party, do not know who they will vote for, or would not vote at all if Sanders and Trump battle it out in the general election. If it’s Clinton vs. Trump, however, that number goes up to 21 percent.
The theme continues with the Marist poll. In Sanders vs. Trump, only 10 percent of respondents said they would either vote for a different candidate or were undecided. With Clinton vs. Trump, the Marist poll showed that 14 percent of respondents were either undecided or would vote for a third party.
The undecided and third party voters are indicative of an underreported and often ignored fact: that many Bernie Sanders supporters have vowed never to vote for Hillary Clinton, even under the threat of a Donald Trump presidency. And as each primary and caucus has also proven, every person and vote matters. A few percentage points, therefore, could make or break a candidate in one of the most hotly contested presidential elections in modern history.
Although officially designated a closed primary, any registered voter could participate in Michigan’s Democratic primary. It gave proof to Sanders’ claim that when registered non-Democrats are allowed to participate, he wins.
The recent Inspector General’s scathing report against Clinton’s improper use of a personal email server has most likely harmed her more than Bernie Sanders’ continued campaign. Despite evidence that she may have broken federal law, super delegates and Democratic leaders continue to urge Sanders to drop out.
“Sometimes you just have to give up,” Harry Reid (D-NV) told the Associated Press, concerning Bernie’s persistence. What Reid is not saying is that neither Clinton, nor Sanders will have the needed number of pledged delegates going into the convention, especially if Bernie performs better than expected in California and the other remaining states.
If the poll numbers are any indication, Sanders has a very good chance of beating Clinton in California in what could be the biggest upset in the Democratic primary season.
[Photo by Noah Berger/AP Images]
