A new 7News/ Emerson College poll shows Bernie Sanders taking a massive lead with 15 points on his nearest competitor, Breitbart reports. The Vermont senator tops the poll with 29 percent support, with former Vice President Joe Biden in second with 14 percent. Behind Biden is former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 13 percent support, trailed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 12 percent.
In the single digits, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and businessman Tom Steyer polled with 8 percent, while Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and businessman Andrew Yang each got 7 percent.
According to Emerson, Sanders has gained six points over the last two weeks in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses Monday evening. The pollster also notes that Democratic New Hampshire voters are evenly split on who they believe will secure the nomination — 39 percent chose Biden, and 38 percent chose Sanders.
None of the other candidates earned more than 5 percent on the same question, suggesting that most New Hampshire voters believe it’s come down to a two-person race, even though Iowa caucuses have yet to conclude.
“The majority (87%) of New Hampshire Primary voters say the events of Monday’s Iowa Caucus will not have an impact on their vote, while 13% say the results of the Caucus will impact who they vote for,” Emerson wrote.
In South Carolina, the latest Change Research/ Post and Courier poll shows Sanders catching up to Biden, who remains in first with 25 percent support. The Vermont senator is second with 20 percent, and not far behind the 78-year-old politician is Steyer with 18 percent. Outside of the trio, the only other candidate with double-digit backing is Warren, with 11 percent.
In the final Emerson College/7 News Iowa poll ahead of the state’s Monday caucuses, Sanders led with 28 percent support. In second is Biden with 21 percent, and in third is Buttigieg with 15 percent.
The whole world is looking at Iowa today. They are looking to see whether the people of Iowa are prepared to stand up and fight for justice. Let’s win this together. pic.twitter.com/lNW5teLvi0
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 3, 2020
Sanders’ rise has caused worry among the Democratic establishment as well as some Republicans. While some members of the GOP believe he will be easy for incumbent Donald Trump to defeat, Vox reports that others aren’t so sure.
“Trump will run on dystopia. Bernie will run on utopia,” argued conservative author David French, highlighting each candidate’s unique brand of populism.
“This split reflects a deeper and growing divide in conservatism: between traditional small-government, free market, libertarian-leaning conservatives and an emerging populist conservative movement that sees some of its 2016 self in Sanders,” Jane Coaston writes in the Vox piece.
According to Coaston, the right’s response to the Sanders campaign reflects the “ideological fault lines” of the modern conservative movement.