Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at a news conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, February 6, 2020.
Mike Segar | Reuters
Sen. Bernie Sanders remains at the top of the Democratic field in a new NBC News/Marist poll of New Hampshire released Friday, days before that state holds its presidential primary.
Sanders, who is from neighboring Vermont, gets 25% of likely Democratic primary voters in the poll. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, receives support from 21%. The difference is within the poll’s margin of error. The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday.
The latest poll shows that Sanders and Buttigieg are well-positioned to capitalize on any momentum they have coming out of the Iowa caucuses, which were marred by technical issues in the counting process. The two candidates were essentially neck and neck in the results that were released.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren registers at 14%, good for third place. Warren hopes the state that neighbors her home of Massachusetts can help to lift her after a third-place finish in Iowa.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who had a dismal showing in the Iowa caucuses, comes in at 13%, potentially indicating another disappointing result for the man who was considered the Democratic front-runner for much of the cycle.
The survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday after the caucuses, measured 709 likely Democratic primary voters and has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.7 percentage points.
The survey also comes just hours before the next Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire. Seven candidates will share the stage at the ABC News/Apple News/WMUR-TV event at St. Anselm College: Sanders, Warren, Biden, Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
The Granite State will hold its first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. It follows Monday’s botched Iowa caucuses. The state took three days to release results after a range of reporting errors, and both Buttigieg and Sanders have declared victory in a tight contest as the Democratic National Committee calls for a recanvass.
For Buttigieg, another strong showing in New Hampshire could give the former long shot the legitimacy and fundraising needed to stay in the primary race for a while.
A Sanders win in the state that neighbors his home of Vermont would further solidify his position near the top of the 2020 Democratic primary race. He hopes to make a run for the top spot in the third and fourth nominating states of Nevada and South Carolina, and has a polling lead in California, a prize on the upcoming Super Tuesday.
In remarks earlier Friday, Sanders targeted Buttigieg. He cited multiple media reports saying the former mayor was a favorite of billionaire donors, framing the election as a choice between those who champion the working class and those who represent the wealthy.
“Which side are you on?” he asked at a Politics and Eggs event held by St. Anselm College’s Institute of Politics.
