Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont is running better than former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in head-to-head match-ups against top Republican presidential candidates in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, according to new polls.

In Iowa, Mrs. Clinton trails former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by 14 points (52 percent to 38 percent), she trails former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush by 10 points (50 percent to 40 percent), and she trails businessman Donald Trump by 7 points (48 percent to 41 percent), according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll.

Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, trails Mrs. Fiorina by 3 points (45 percent to 42 percent), trails Mr. Bush by 2 points (46 percent to 44 percent), and leads Mr. Trump by 5 points (48 percent to 43 percent).

Mr. Sanders has emerged as Mrs. Clinton’s top rival in the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

In New Hampshire, Mrs. Clinton leads Mr. Trump by 3 points (48 percent to 45 percent), but trails Mr. Bush by 7 points (49 percent to 42 percent) and trails Mrs. Fiorina by 8 points (50 percent to 42 percent).

Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, leads Mr. Trump by 10 points (52 percent to 42 percent) in New Hampshire, he’s tied with Mr. Bush at 46 percent apiece, and he leads Mrs. Fiorina by 2 points (47 percent to 45 percent).

The NBC/WSJ/Marist polls were conducted Sept. 23-30. In Iowa, 1,061 registered voters were interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points; and in New Hampshire, 1,044 registered voters were interviewed with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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