Poll: Sanders overtakes Clinton in Iowa

Bernie Sanders has overtaken Hillary Clinton in Iowa just 10 days before the caucuses there, according to a new poll.

A CNN-ORC poll released on Thursday found Sanders receiving 51 percent support in Iowa to Clinton’s 43 percent. Clinton led by 18 points in the December version of the poll.

But among Iowans who participated in the 2008 caucuses, the survey found, Clinton leads Sanders 55 percent to 38 percent.

{mosads}Clinton still leads in the RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls by 4.7 points, but recent surveys show the Democratic presidential race has tightened considerably since the fall, when she appeared to be pulling away.

Now, the Iowa caucuses appear headed for a photo finish, which is likely to energize Sanders’s supporters heading into New Hampshire, where he has opened up a small lead over Clinton.

Clinton supporters believe that demographics in the first states to vote — largely white and progressive — play to Sanders’s strengths. They say Clinton’s dominance over Sanders among minority voters will propel her to victory once the contests begin in more diverse states such as South Carolina, Nevada.

Most Democrats in the poll, 60 percent, still view Clinton as the candidate more likely to win the general election in November.

Sanders, who has made economic equality the centerpiece of his campaign, has a 22-point lead over Clinton on the question of who is better equipped to steer the economy.

In addition, 67 percent said Sanders would do more to help the middle class, compared with 30 percent who said the same about Clinton.

But Clinton, a former secretary of State, beats the Vermont senator by 40 points on the issue of foreign policy.

The CNN-ORC poll of 280 likely Democratic caucusgoers was conducted between Jan. 15 to 20 and has a 6-point margin of error.