Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has cut deeply into Hillary Clinton’s support nationally, and now only trails the long-time front-runner by just 7 points, according to a new poll.
A CBS/New York Times survey released late Tuesday found Clinton taking 48 percent support nationally, with Sanders at 41 percent support.
{mosads}Perhaps especially concerning for Clinton’s team, the poll shows her way behind with voters under 45 years of age. Sanders has 60 percent support in that cohort, with Clinton at 31 percent.
In the December edition of the same poll, Clinton held a 20-point lead — 52 percent to 32 percent. This is the first time she’s fallen below the 50 percent threshold in the CBS/New York Times survey.
A strong majority of Democrats, 72 percent, still believe Clinton will be the party’s nominee.
Clinton has a double-digit lead among women in the poll, taking 53 percent support over Sanders’s 39 percent. Still, the Vermont senator has cut significantly into her lead, picking up 10 points among women over the same survey from December.
Sanders has huge leads over Clinton among self-described liberals and younger voters, while the former secretary of State boasts big leads over Sanders among self-described moderates and older voters.
The survey comes as a raft of new polling shows Sanders’ strength in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote.
A Quinnipiac University survey released on Tuesday found Sanders overtaking Clinton in Iowa. He leads by 5 points in the poll, after having trailed by 11 points in the previous survey from December.
A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday found Clinton maintaining her lead in Iowa by 6 points, although she led in the same poll from December by 18.
After Clinton had pulled away from Sanders in recent months in Iowa, the candidates are now tied in the Hawkeye State, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Sanders has established himself as the front-runner. A Monmouth University survey released Tuesday found Sanders leading by 14 points. He now leads by 6 points in the Granite State, according to the RCP average.
The CBS/NYT survey of 389 Democratic primary voters nationwide has a 6 percentage point margin of error.