Islam Times - Sanders closing in on Clinton, national poll shows

Islam Times - US Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders has nearly closed the gap with his party rival Hillary Clinton, a new national poll shows.

The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey released on Monday showed that the Vermont senator has 48 percent support among Democratic voters, virtually tying with the former Secretary of State’s 50 percent.

Sanders picked up four percentage points since last month’s survey while Clinton’s support slipped.

The results mark a significant turnaround for Sanders who was 20 percent behind Clinton in January and 60 points behind her in June last year.

The poll also found that 66 percent of voters under the age of 49 side with Sanders while 62 percent over that age prefer Clinton.

Clinton and Sanders showed the bad blood between them at the CNN presidential debate in Brooklyn on Thursday.

The rivals traded barbs and jabs, at times shouting at each other over issues such as gun control, the role of big money in US politics, America’s foreign policy debacles and the flawed criminal justice system.

A CBS News poll released over the weekend showed that In head-to-head general election, Sanders would beat all three remaining GOP candidates, including Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

He beat Trump with a 17-point lead, Senator Ted Cruz with a 12-point lead over and Ohio Governor John Kasich with a 5-point lead.