Bernie Sanders could be running into some early trouble, as the onetime 2020 Democratic frontrunner is losing steam in one of his most important states.
Sanders has seen his stature in the campaign slowly, but steadily sink as he continues to dip on the polls, and a new poll shows some particular trouble in New Hampshire. The CBS News poll released on Sunday shows that former Vice President Joe Biden had the support of 27 percent of voters in the Granite State, one of the most important early states on the primary schedule next year and one described as a firewall for Sanders. The poll showed that Bernie Sanders was in second place at 20 percent, just ahead of Elizabeth Warren with 18 percent.
This is now the second poll that shows Biden in the lead in New Hampshire, coming after one from CNN last week that showed Biden on top with Sanders and Warren neck-and-neck in second place.
New Hampshire was a key state for Bernie Sanders in 2016, giving him a resounding victory that helped give his once long-shot run a boost of legitimacy. New Hampshire is something close to home turf for the Vermont Senator, and a state that experts say would be key for him in the upcoming 2020 Democratic primaries.
Once the leader of the pack before Biden entered the race, Bernie Sanders has since fallen off as Warren and Kamala Harris continue to rise. An aggregate of polling conducted by RealClear Politics shows that Sanders has been on a continual decline since late April, when Biden entered the race, and that Warren has now jumped into a statistical tie for second place behind Biden.
Despite the dip, Sanders remains among the small group of Democrats still within close contention and above the 15 percent level needed to win delegates for the Democratic National Convention. His campaign has also shown a continued strength in fundraising, especially among small-money donors, an advantage that could allow Sanders to outlast his opponents in what looks to be a tight and potentially long primary season.
“If we consider a 15% threshold as the minimum support needed to win convention delegates, then across the early states, four candidates would meet that benchmark: Biden, Warren, Harris and Bernie Sanders.“ https://t.co/YV8divpFCd
— Alex Burns (@alexanderburns) July 21, 2019
The Sanders campaign has also been hit with some controversy, including an announcement this weekend that it would be cutting hours for staffers in order to implement a $15 minimum wage for all those working on the campaign. As Fox News reported, there had been some growing frustration among staffers that Bernie was championing a $15 minimum wage for Americans while his own employees made what was described as “poverty wages.”