The poll, released Thursday, found Buttigieg with 20 percent of support, followed closely by former vice president Joe Biden with 19 percent, Sanders with 18 percent, and Senator Elizabeth Warren with 15 percent. A margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent means the race for the New Hampshire primary is statistically a four-way tie. The remainder of the field saw a level of support in the single digits.

A new Monmouth University poll of New Hampshire voters finds the top four members of the Democratic presidential primary field locked in a four-way statistical tie, but former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders have made gains.


Buttigieg saw big jump in support from the previous Monmouth poll of New Hampshire voters, conducted in September, which found him with the support of 10 percent of likely voters. Sanders also made gains, rising by six percentage points since September, while Biden dropped by six percentage points, and Warren lost 12 percentage points.

The Democratic race is entering a crucial stretch as the Iowa caucuses approach in less than a month, followed closely by the New Hampshire primary. The candidates meet for their next debate on Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa, where Democratic National Committee rules are likely to mean a winnowed slate of candidates taking the debate stage. So far, only five candidates have met the DNC’s requirements: Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, and Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The Monmouth poll did not help any of the candidates who have not yet made the debate stage, including Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer, both of whom met the December benchmarks but in Thursday’s poll fell short of the five percent of support they needed. Candidates must show five percent of support in four qualifying polls or seven percent in two early state polls by Friday.


The poll surveyed 404 likely New Hampshire primary voters by telephone Jan. 3 to Jan. 7.









Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @cprignano.