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The Democratic debates have helped Bernie Sanders reach an all-time high in support for the Democratic nomination as more voters get to know the senator from Vermont.

According to NBC News:



Bernie Sanders has reached his highest level of support this year in the latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll. Sanders is now the preferred candidate of 33% of Democratic and independent voters who lean Democratic. However, he still trails Hillary Clinton by 16 points, and his slight gain of 3 points since last month’s poll is barely perceptible and within the poll’s error estimate of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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The latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted Sunday through Tuesday among 5,755 adults nationwide, including 1,983 Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic. Sanders maintains a strong lead among young voters, and he trails Clinton by a mere 3 points among whites, 6 points among men, and by 9 points among college graduates. But among all other groups, Clinton continues to hold double-digit leads.

The good news for Sen. Sanders is that he is becoming more known nationally, and his support is growing. The bad news is that Sanders support continues to grow with those groups that he is already strong with. The Democratic nomination won’t be decided by white men and college graduates. The key Democratic primary voters are women, Hispanics, and African-Americans. Clinton leads with women 53%-29%. She leads Sen. Sanders with African-Americans 66%-16%, and Hispanics 47%-28%.

When examining poll numbers, it is important to consider the message behind the data. National polls are not good predictive tools for primaries, which are a series of individual state by state elections. However, the increase in national support for Sen. Sanders indicates that he is becoming more known through the debates, and his overall base of support is increasing.

The duration of the Democratic primary will be determined by the first four states. If Hillary Clinton sweeps the early states, she will roll to the Democratic nomination. Sen. Sanders needs to win or be close in Iowa and win New Hampshire by a sizable margin. If he does well early, Sanders could make this a longer contest.

The good news for supporters of Sen. Sanders is that the national movement behind their candidate is growing. Even if he fails to win the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders can take his new campaign back to the Senate and have millions of people fighting alongside him to give government back to ordinary Americans.

The Democratic primary is a no-lose situation for Sen. Sanders. He has become the most popular progressive/liberal in the country, and he is going to be influential in American politics even if he doesn’t win the Democratic nomination.

2015 has been a great year for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).