Bernie Sanders Is Closing Fast, But Hillary Clinton Holds Double-Digit Lead In New Poll

A Fox news poll, released on August 16th, has both good news and bad news for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, and for her nearest challenger Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The survey found that Hillary Clinton still held a solid lead in the Democratic race, but her margin has shrunk considerably during the course of 2015.

In the latest poll, Clinton held a 49 to 30 advantage over Sanders. While that is still a substantial lead, it is down from her 51-22 margin from late July, and her crushing 59-19 lead from one month ago. In the past month, Clinton’s lead has gone from 40 points to 19 points nationally.

The Fox poll also shows that Vice President Joe Biden has no momentum in the Democratic field. He is polling at just 10 percent, and his support has been fairly stagnant over the past several months. Aside from Clinton, Sanders and Biden, no other Democratic candidate has a substantial base of support to draw upon. Jim Webb, Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee all polled at one percent support or less.

As the 2016 presidential race continues to take shape, the Fox News poll reconfirms two fundamental truths about the Democratic race to date. The first truth is that Hillary Clinton is still the clear leader in the Democratic field. The second truth is that Bernie Sanders is riding a wave of momentum and is rapidly closing the gap.

If current trends continue, the Democratic primary race is likely to become more competitive. While Hillary Clinton will probably remain the favorite to capture the Democratic nomination, the Sanders’ campaign appears able to put the Vermont Senator in a position where defeating Clinton is not out of the question.

While the 17 candidate Republican race has drawn most of the media attention, the Democratic race may also shape up to be a close contest. Hillary Clinton still leads the field, but Bernie Sanders is making a race out of it.

Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.