- The Washington Times - Thursday, July 2, 2015

Sen. Bernie Sanders is gaining on front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic presidential race in Iowa, more than doubling his support among likely participants in the state’s first-in-the-nation nominating contest, said a new poll released Friday.

The Quinnipiac University poll showed Mr. Sanders trailing Mrs. Clinton in Iowa 52 percent to 33 percent, compared to the same survey in May that had him behind 60 percent to 15 percent.

The poll provides the latest evidence that Mr. Sanders, a Vermont independent and avowed socialist, is consolidating support on the party’s left and poses the most significant challenge to Mrs. Clinton, who remains the party’s the all-but-inevitable nominee.

Mr. Sanders’ rising popularity also has been visible in the large crowds flocking to see him on the campaign trail. At an event Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, nearly 10,000 people showed up to hear his call for a political revolution from the left, which was the largest crowd at any campaign event this year.

“Secretary Hillary Clinton should not be biting her fingernails over her situation in the Iowa caucus, but her lead is slipping, and Sen. Bernie Sanders is making progress against her,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll. “Her 52 percent score among likely caucus-goers is still OK, but this is the first time she has been below 60 percent in Quinnipiac University’s Iowa survey.”

The other long-shot candidates in the race remained mired in the low single digits.

In the poll of likely Democratic caucus goers, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley got 3 percent, and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who has not officially entered the race, got 1 percent.

Mrs. Clinton performed better in the Iowa poll than in national surveys when it came to questions about her honesty, trustworthiness and her ability to relate to voters.

Her standing in these areas have been shaken by questions about her exclusive use of a private email account to conduct official business as secretary of state and potential conflicts of interest involving foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation while she was the country’s top diplomat.

“The good news for Clinton in this survey is that despite problematic scores among the overall electorate regarding her honesty and ability to understand the needs of average folks, none of those negative ratings are showing up among her Democratic base, to which she remains an iconic figure,” Mr. Brown said.

“By overwhelming margins, likely Democratic caucus-goers themselves consider her to be honest, believe she understands the problems of average folks and is a strong leader,” he said.

• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.

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