In the last month, Clinton has deployed a legion of celebrities and family members to take her message to Granite State voters, according to ABC News.
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Taking a page out of Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s playbook, Sanders has recently started opening his remarks with lengthy references to his improving poll numbers.
While one poll still gives Mrs Clinton a 21 point lead over Mr Sanders, another only gives her a six point lead and a third puts the Vermont senator five points ahead.
The Monmouth University poll shows Clinton with 52 percent support from Democratic primary voters nationwide and Sanders with 37 percent.
Foiled by Sanders’ tough but tactful issue-oriented campaign strategy, Hillary’s aggressive attempt to paint her opponent as a drastic flip-flopper throughout the debate has missed the mark, causing her to appear less like the strong contender she aimed at portraying, and more like a candidate desperate to hold on to her shrinking lead. By 58% to 33%, New Hampshire Democratic voters say Sanders, rather than Clinton, most possesses “the personal characteristics and qualities” needed in a president, while voters say 57% to 33% that the progressive populist Sanders is the candidate best-equipped to handle the economy.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign also released a statement after the poll results were announced, insinuating that Republicans and their super PACs were helping Sanders because they were afraid of facing Clinton in the general elections.
In a phone interview on “The Rachel Maddow Show” Monday, the Democratic candidate said she loves the debates and was unaware of any effort to limit their number or schedule them during low viewership times.
For Clinton, that meant a return to Iowa where Sanders is now running neck-and-neck with her, with just two weeks until the caucuses.
Students who vote Democratic are divided.
Voters’ view of Sanders is even more favorable now than it was in December, when he was viewed favorably by 83 percent and unfavorably by 9 percent.
Readers: Did you engage on Facebook or Twitter during the most recent Democratic debate?
Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College political scientist, told Boston.com that Sanders is viewed so favorably because of a lack of negative information about him, despite the Clinton campaign’s recent uptick in negative attacks. But he also leads 55 percent to 36 percent among those who voted in both of those primaries.
Sanders’ team says there’s little daylight between the senator and Obama and note one major difference. Clinton fares best among those 65 and over, trailing Sanders 44 percent to 42 percent, which is a virtual tie. Support among women for Clinton has also declined, dropping to a smaller advantage now of 54%-35% over Sanders.
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I suggested to Briggs that all that reaching out hasn’t paid off, since black Democrats still seem strongly behind Clinton. But if you thought this race wasn’t going to be close, well, it is. Obama won by almost 29 percentage points. Clinton will return on Friday, while former President Bill Clinton and Hillary for American campaign manager John Podesta will campaign on Wednesday in Concord.
