Presidential Election Poll 2016: Clinton and Sanders Running Neck-in-Neck, Cruz Catching Up to Trump
A new national poll reveals a major shift in both the Democratic and Republican presidential primary races as the 2016 front-runners have lost their once double-digit leads.
A Quinnipiac University national poll released Friday shows Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump no longer have huge leads in their respective parties. According to the survey, Clinton and Bernie Sanders are nearly tied in the Democratic race, while Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are hot on Trump's trail in the GOP election.
Back in mid-December, a Quinnipiac poll showed Clinton boosted a commanding 31-point lead over Sanders, 61 percent to 30 percent, reports Politico. Now, the former secretary of state tops the Vermont senator by just 2 points, 44 percent to 42 percent, which is within the poll's margin of error.
"Democrats nationwide are feeling the Bern as Sen. Bernie Sanders closes a 31-point gap to tie Secretary Hillary Clinton," said Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, in a statement.
Likewise, Trump's popularity has also taken a hit following Monday night's Iowa Caucuses. The survey finds Trump polling at 31 percent nationally, with Cruz at 22 percent and Rubio with 19 percent. Meanwhile, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson came in fourth place with 6 percent.
The poll, which was conducted Feb. 2-4, also reveals one-third of Republicans said they would support Trump, while another 30 percent "would definitely not support" the businessman.
Cruz ranked in second place in that category with 15 percent, while Rubio followed with 7 percent saying they would not support him.
Earlier this week, the first post-Iowa national poll released by Public Policy Polling (PPP) Thursday revealed Trump's support among GOP primary voters has dropped down to 25 percent, giving him just a 4-point lead over Cruz and Rubio, who both obtained 21 percent.
This means the real estate mogul has dropped 9 points from the last PPP poll released a week before Christmas, which showed him with 43 percent of support, leading Cruz by 16 points and Rubio by 21 points.