Story highlights A new poll shows Iowa Democratic caucus-goers believe Clinton has the best shot at beating a Republican

But they think Sanders would be best for the economy

Washington (CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads her competition among Iowa Democrats, but likely caucus-goers believe Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for the economy, a new poll says.

About half of likely Democratic caucus-goers -- 51% -- said they support Clinton, compared to 42% for Sanders and just 4% for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

The results mark very little change from a similar survey released October 23.

Most of those surveyed said they believe Clinton (85%) has a better shot than Sanders (54%) at defeating a Republican candidate, said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a statement accompanying the poll results.

About 47% of the Democrats polled said Sanders would best handle the economy, while 42% said they believed Clinton would.

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