Sanders takes lead in New Hampshire in Monmouth poll

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has taken the lead in New Hampshire just five days before the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, according to a Monmouth University poll released Thursday.

Sanders leads the pack with 24 percent support in the state, according to the poll, a 6-point jump since a similar Monmouth survey was released last month. Meanwhile, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden are jockeying for second place, notching 20 percent and 17 percent support, respectively.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) placed fourth in the poll with 13 percent support. No other candidate registered double digits in the survey. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) scored 9 percent, while Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and former tech executive Andrew Yang notched 4 percent each. 

Tom Steyer, the billionaire philanthropist who leads the pack in ad spending in New Hampshire, came seventh, with 3 percent support, according to the Monmouth poll. 

The survey suggests that Sanders is heading into the New Hampshire primary with momentum, even as the results of the Iowa caucuses remain unsettled. 

The tallies from Iowa were delayed this week following technical difficulties and quality control checks. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Sanders is trailing Buttigieg for the top spot by a scant 0.1 percentage point. Warren currently sits in third place, while Biden is languishing in fourth. 

The former vice president is in need of a top finish in New Hampshire to help propel his campaign into Nevada and South Carolina, the third and fourth states to vote and ones that represent friendlier territory for Biden. He has so far led most polls in those states, and maintains strong support among African American voters, which could come in handy in South Carolina.

But the Monmouth poll suggests that Biden’s support in New Hampshire may be eroding. Other polls in recent weeks have shown him at the top of the pack, but there are signs that he may be in for a tougher fight than he had hoped. 

Still, the Iowa caucuses appear to have had little effect on voters’ preferences in New Hampshire, according to the Monmouth poll. Sixty-two percent of respondents said the caucuses had no impact on how they feel about their current candidate of choice. Meanwhile, 24 percent said the caucuses made them “more confident” in their choice, while just 8 percent said they are now “less confident.”

In New Hampshire, nearly half of likely Democratic primary voters are decided on whom they will vote for — 49 percent — compared to about 46 percent who said there’s still a possibility that they change their mind.

Seven of the Democratic candidates are set to debate in New Hampshire on Friday night: Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, Klobuchar, Steyer and Yang. The primary itself is set for next Tuesday.

The Monmouth poll surveyed 503 likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters from Feb. 3-5. It has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.