Feel the Bern? Sanders takes lead in New Hampshire, him & Buttigieg gain ground nationwide after Iowa caucus fail – polls

Following the Iowa caucus fiasco – the results of which are still unclear– Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders have gained support, with the latter taking quite a solid lead in New Hampshire, fresh polls indicate.

All eyes are now on New Hampshire, where the next Democratic primary is set to take place on Tuesday.

Sanders enjoys 24 percent support in the state, according to a poll by Monmouth University released on Thursday. This gives him a solid lead over the rest of the Democratic candidates with former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Buttigieg in second place with 20 percent support, while former Vice President Joe Biden is the third with 17 percent.

Things might still change, though, as only a half – 49 percent to be precise – of primary voters are firmly set on who exactly they are going to support. For 55 percent of Democrats in the state, ousting incumbent President Donald Trump is a more important factor in their pick than any policies the candidates actually stand for. With such a mindset, therefore, the voters tend to support the candidate who looks 'strong' enough to be able to oust the not-so-beloved leader from the White House.

Nationwide, things do not look very bright for Biden. According to Morning Consult's latest poll, the candidate lost a whopping five percent of supporters in just three days, dropping from 29 to 24 percent. Sanders, in turn, gained support and now enjoys 25 percent of voters ready to back him, taking a slim lead over Biden – still, this lead is not a decisive one and lies within the poll's margin of error. Buttigieg nearly doubled his nationwide support and now stands at 12 percent.

Dwindling support for Biden, clearly seen in the opinion polls, corresponds with the Iowa caucus. Despite the multitude of technical issues that plagued the scandalous event and still prevent a final result from being announced, it's clear that Biden's performance was quite poor. He is likely to score fourth in Iowa with nearly 16 percent of voter support, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren is third now with about 18 percent.

The standoff between Sanders and Buttigieg has effectively resulted in a draw, with both claiming victory.

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