Bernie Sanders pulls ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire poll

For first time, former First Lady not most popular in survey of Democratic primary voters

By JTA 13 August 2015, 1:59 am

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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) addresses hecklers and supporters at the Netroots Nation 2015 Presidential Town Hall in Phoenix, Arizona, July 18, 2015. (Charlie Leight/Getty Images/AFP)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders surpassed front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton as the leading Democratic presidential candidate in a poll of New Hampshire voters.

Sanders, who is Jewish, led Clinton 44-37 percent among the 442 likely Democratic primary voters who responded in the Franklin Pierce University/Boston Herald poll released Wednesday.

It was the first survey of voters in which Clinton was not the most popular candidate, according to the Boston Herald. A Franklin Pierce/Boston Herald poll in March had Sanders, an independent running in the Democratic race, trailing Clinton by a 44-8 margin.

The poll was conducted Aug. 7-10 by phone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton walks away from the microphones after speaking to reporters on the deal with Iran, Tuesday, July 14, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

More than half of the poll respondents said they viewed Sanders “very” favorably.

Just 35 percent said they were “excited” about Clinton’s campaign, according to the poll. Among the 80 percent of respondents who said they viewed her favorably, only 38 percent said it was “very” favorable.

Sanders, 73, was more popular among younger voters than older ones, according to the Washington Post. Among poll respondents 65 and older, the 67-year-old Clinton had more than 50 percent support, compared to less than 30 percent for Sanders.