Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead over Sanders on foreign policy. | AP Photo Poll: Clinton strengthens national lead over Sanders

Hillary Clinton’s national lead over her primary rivals is even stronger following her performance during Saturday’s Democratic debate, according to a CNN/ORC poll out Wednesday.

Overall, the former secretary of state is ahead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 50 percent to 34 percent.


But based on a breakdown from surveys taken before and after the debate, Clinton’s lead has grown even more after her performance. Before Saturday, Clinton was leading Sanders 45 percent to 37 percent. In surveys taken after Saturday, Clinton shot up to 60 percent while Sanders dropped to 27 percent.

Clinton is also dominant on the major issues: She holds a commanding lead over Sanders on foreign policy, 72 percent to his 15 percent; a big lead on handling the Islamic State, 63 percent to 18 percent: and on guns, Clinton comes out ahead 51 percent to 30 percent. Although Sanders’ heavy focus on the economy puts the two closest on that issue, Clinton leads again: Only 39 percent see him as the most qualified to handle economic issues versus 47 for Clinton.

The telephone poll of 414 Democrats and Democratic leaners was conducted Dec. 17-21 with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.