Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is inching up on fellow candidate Hillary Clinton in Iowa, now trailing by only 7 percentage points in the latest Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll.
Clinton is the first choice for Iowans with 37 percent, according to the poll, and Sanders draws 30 percent.
The Register points out this is the first time Clinton has dropped below the 50 percent threshold in this particular poll since the last four surveys were taken. The undeclared Vice President Joe Biden garners 14 percent.
Some Democratic insiders have written off Sanders’ growing support as flimsy and as something that will not transfer to votes at the caucuses and primaries; however, others say Sanders better communicates with younger voters and the activist Democratic base than any other candidate.
According to The Register, Sanders has risen from 5 percent support, while Clinton has fallen from 56 percent to 37 percent support since January among likely Iowa caucus-goers.
“What this new poll shows is that the more Iowans get to know Bernie the better they like him and what he stands for. We’ve seen the same thing in New Hampshire and across the country,” Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said of the poll.
“At a time when the middle class continues to disappear and almost all new wealth and income is going to the top 1 percent, the American people want leadership that is prepared to fight for working families and take on the greed of a billionaire class that has enormous control over our economy, our political life and the media,” Sanders’ spokesman added.