Sanders Tops CNN Poll in New Hampshire: Bernie Edges Warren as Biden Dives

Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the field of hopefuls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in a new CNN poll released Tuesday, the latest good news for the campaign over the past month.

“As we have said from the beginning, this is a campaign built to win and planning to win,” campaign manager Faiz Shakir told Common Dreams. “We’ve been steadily and consistently executing our strategy, even while the media analysis of our campaign has been in disarray.”

Sanders topped the poll (pdf), which was conducted between October 21 and 27, with 21% of voters naming the Vermont senator as their first choice for the nomination. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was close behind with 18%, setting up the possibility of a protracted battle between the two progressive frontrunners—both of whose home states border New Hampshire. 

The poll found that voters believe Sanders is better suited to handle healthcare and the climate crisis than Warren, his closest competitor on those issues, by 33% to 17% and 30% and 15%, respectively.

Sanders supporter James Zogby, founder of the Arab-American Institute, said on Twitter that the results show that Sanders is on the upswing.

“He’s seen as best on climate change and health care—the two issues rated most important by N.H. voters,” said Zogby. “I guess #BerniesBack (as I knew he would be) and the ‘bouncing ball’ polls show it.”

Joe Biden, who came in third with 15% of the poll, saw support drop nine points from the last New Hampshire CNN poll. It’s the latest sign of trouble for the former vice president, whose falling fundraising numbers have been a source of concern to supporters and staff recently. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg sat in fourth with 10%; no other candidate cracked double digits in the poll.