According to the latest WBUR poll of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is continuing to surge. In the Granite State, Sanders holds a commanding lead, having secured the support of 29 percent of likely voters.
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg — who led in the previous WBUR poll in December — came in a distant second, with 17 percent of the vote. Third place belongs to former Vice President Joe Biden, who enjoys the support of 14 percent of New Hampshirites, and fourth went to Elizabeth Warren, who is polling at 13 percent.
Sanders’ greatest strength, according to the poll, is the support he enjoys among young people. The 78-year-old senator is supported by 52 percent of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters under the age of 30. The opposite is the case with Biden, who leads with those over 60.
According to the poll, Sanders is up 14 percent since December, but everyone else is more or less stagnant. As Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group — which conducted the poll — explained in a statement, this could mean trouble for Warren, who appears to be struggling to attract new supporters.
“It’s not really that voters have turned on her, it’s just that she hasn’t attracted more support over the last four to six weeks, or so,” he said.
However, the new results are clearly good news for the Vermont senator’s campaign.
“I wouldn’t take these numbers to the bank. But you’ve got to be feeling pretty good about where you stand right at this moment if you’re the Sanders campaign,” he said.
New Hampshire @WBUR Poll Among…
Men age 50+: Biden 22% Buttigieg 17% Sanders 16% Warren 9% Gabbard 5% Klobuchar 4% Yang 3%
Women age 50+: Sanders 26% Biden 17% Buttigieg 12% Warren 10% Klobuchar 9% Yang 5% Gabbard 3%
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) January 23, 2020
The respondents were also asked to share their opinions about President Donald Trump. Although a majority of them hold a negative view of the president and disagree with him on a variety of issues, a third of male Democratic primary voters say they approve of the way he has managed the economy.
As Koczela pointed out, this is significant, given that New Hampshire will likely be a battleground state in 2020. As such, “any inroads” that the Trump campaign can make among older male voters in the Granite State “could be potentially very consequential.”
In terms of the Democratic primary race, the WBUR poll reflects a broader trend, showing that Sanders is surging, with the rest of the candidates either fading away or maintaining their support without attracting new voters. It appears to have become a two-way race between Sanders and Biden, who have spent the past few weeks contrasting their records and aggressively pitching themselves to voters in key early states.