Poll: Clinton’s lead rises to 25 points nationally

Hillary Clinton heads into the next Democratic presidential debate with a 25-point lead over Bernie Sanders, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

{mosads}The former secretary of State has the support of 59 percent of Democratic primary voters nationally, pollsters found, compared to 34 percent for the Vermont senator. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who will also be on the debate state Sunday evening in Charleston, S.C., has 2 percent.

In December, Clinton held a 19-point lead over Sanders in a similar poll.

Clinton beats Sanders in the new poll among Democrats who want an experienced candidate by a 41-point margin, while Sanders is the choice of party voters who want change, 63 to 26 percent.

Sanders would also fare better in a head-to-head matchup against GOP front-runner Donald Trump, according to the poll, 54 to 39 percent. Pollsters found Clinton would beat Trump in a hypothetical general election race by 10 points.

The NBC/WSJ poll of 400 Democratic primary voters, conducted Jan. 9-13, has a margin of error of 4.9 percentage points.