Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has opened up a commanding lead over Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to a new poll released on Sunday.
Sanders leads the former secretary of state by 10 points — 43 percent to 33 percent — in Iowa among 646 likely caucus-goers surveyed in the new CBS News/YouGov “Battleground Tracker” poll.
#cbsnewspoll shows #Dems in Iowa: @BernieSanders tops at 43% @HillaryClinton 33% with @JoeBiden at 10% pic.twitter.com/SWztWJVJ5G
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 13, 2015
In a poll of 548 likely New Hampshire primary voters, Sanders leads Clinton 52-30.
#cbsnewspoll shows @BernieSanders surging w 52%, @HillaryClinton at 30% & @JoeBiden at 9% among #Dems in NH pic.twitter.com/gbBnqY7KX2
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 13, 2015
Clinton still commands a strong lead –46-23 — over Sanders in South Carolina, another crucial early primary state.
Sanders’ surge in Iowa and New Hampshire must cause concern for the Clinton campaign, which is currently mired in a scandal over the candidate’s use of a personal email account at the State Department. (RELATED: Pro-Clinton Group Is Out With New Report Defending Email Server Security)
Clinton commanded a massive lead over Sanders throughout the spring and into the summer. But that began to give way as Clinton struggled to grapple with email questions and as Sanders drew massive audiences at campaign stops in battleground states and across the country.
An NBC/Marist poll released at the beginning of the month had Sanders leading Clinton 41-32 in New Hampshire. While Clinton led Sanders 38-27 in the same poll in Iowa, a newer Iowa poll from Quinnipiac showed Sanders leading Clinton there, 41-40.
Sanders’ support in the CBS News/YouGov poll, which involved phone and online interviews, is attributable to a massive enthusiasm gap. (RELATED: Bernie Sanders Rockets Past Clinton By Nine Points In New Hampshire)
Sixty-three percent of Sanders supporters in Iowa are enthusiastic about their candidate, according to the survey. Only 49 percent of Clinton supporters are excited about backing her. In New Hampshire, 78 percent of Sanders supporters are enthusiastic compared to only 39 percent of Clinton backers.