Most Bernie Sanders voters OK with Hillary Clinton winning

Donovan Slack | USA TODAY

Bernie Sanders grabbed headlines when a recent poll showed him with a 10-point lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, but nationally, the former secretary of State is still way, way, way ahead of the Vermont senator.

Clinton has 59% support among Democrats, compared with Sanders’ 26 %, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday. Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley is well back at 4%.

What’s more, a majority of Sanders supporters — 59 % — said they would be OK if Clinton bested their candidate and won the Democratic nomination.

Clinton’s numbers have changed little since October, when Monmouth found her ahead of Sanders 57% to 24%.

“Clinton successfully ran the gauntlet this fall, appearing before the Benghazi Committee and outlasting the specter of a Biden candidacy,” Monmouth poll director Patrick Murray said in a statement. “She really hasn’t lost ground since then.”

Her favorability ratings also have not shifted much. Some 73% of Democrats surveyed viewed her favorably, compared to 15% who viewed her unfavorably. Those numbers were 77% favorable and 18% unfavorable in October.

Sanders, meanwhile, is viewed favorably by 59% and unfavorably by 16%, compared with 60% favorable and 10% unfavorable two months ago.

Some other tidbits from the poll: For Democrats, the top issues are the economy and jobs, followed by terrorism and national security.

Republicans are much more likely to pick terrorism as their top concern — 57% of them rated it first, compared with 36% of Democrats, a Monmouth GOP poll found.

The poll released Wednesday surveyed registered voters who lean toward or identify themselves as Democrats from Dec. 10 to 13. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 5.1 percentage points.