Poll: In New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders surges

Susan Page | USA TODAY

In New Hampshire, at least, there seems to be a contest brewing for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Even as Hillary Clinton was holding her first big rally of the campaign, a Suffolk University Poll taken over the weekend finds the Democratic front-runner leading Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by an unimpressive 41%-31% among likely Democratic primary voters in the Granite State.

The findings underscore some of her challenges ahead: Nearly three in four Democrats have a favorable impression of Clinton, but even this friendly group is inclined to think that controversies over the Benghazi attacks in Libya, her use of a private email server while secretary of State and the contributions by foreign governments to her husband's foundation will hurt her in a general election.

In response to an open-ended question, those who don't support her as their first choice cite such reasons as "don't trust her" and "need someone new" and "tired of Clintons."

The poll of 500 likely Democratic primary voters, taken Thursday through Monday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

"Don't underestimate the power of the progressive nerve network," says David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, which runs the poll. "It is alive (and) far-reaching, and it is translating into political muscle in the New Hampshire Democratic primary."

In 2008, Clinton's comeback victory in New Hampshire revived her flagging campaign against Barack Obama for a time. But Sanders told USA TODAY's Capital Download last week that he would win the first-in-the-nation primary. "Unlike other parts of the country, I am better known in New Hampshire because we're just the Connecticut River apart, in Vermont," he said. "We start out in a better position."

Indeed, among those who say they know enough about both candidates to have an opinion of them, Clinton leads Sanders by 38%-35%, within the margin of error.

There is a wide gender gap: Clinton leads among women, 47%-28%. Sanders leads among men, 35%-32%.

In the survey, Vice President Biden is third at 7% and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley fourth at 3%. Former Virginia senator Jim Webb has the support of 1% and former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee of less than 1%. O'Malley and Chafee have announced their candidacies; Webb says he is weighing a bid.

On a list of 15 issues, those surveyed were most interested in having the candidates spend time talking about health care, job creation, energy, income inequality and concerns about the nation's infrastructure. Ranked at the bottom were discussions of their religious beliefs and the social issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.

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