Hill.TV host Krystal Ball declared Monday that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is “exactly where he needs to be to win the Democratic nomination.”
“Now you all know I have held back on saying this and I do so today very cautiously, but I just can’t deny the fundamentals anymore,” Ball said, pointing to Sanders’s recent surge in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Ball also argued Sanders has built out a national organizing infrastructure “to be able to capitalize on the momentum that would come from winning those first two states.”
A Des Moines Register/CNN poll released Friday showed Sanders leading the Democratic field in Iowa with 20 percent support followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at 17 percent.
Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg placed third at 16 percent, while former Vice President Joe Biden trailed with 15 percent support.
Meanwhile, a Monmouth University poll of New Hampshire released last week showed Sanders with a spike in support, putting him in close competition with Buttigieg, Sanders and Warren.
The Monmouth poll showed Buttigieg with a narrow lead at 20 percent followed by Biden at 19 percent, Sanders at 18 percent and Warren at 15 percent.
Ball’s comments come as the four top-tier candidates prepare to face off in Tuesday night’s debate in Iowa. It marks the last big primary event before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3.
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