Leads Sanders

Massachusetts poll: Clinton leads Sanders by 8

By Nick Gass

Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by eight points in Massachusetts a day before Super Tuesday, according to the results of a new Suffolk University poll released Monday, which does not exactly portend good things for the Vermont senator's electoral chances in the New England state.

While Sanders has made significant inroads against Clinton in the state, he still trails her 50 percent to 42 percent in the latest survey conducted between last Thursday and Saturday. Clinton held a much stronger lead of 54 percent to 29 percent in the same survey in November. About 9 percent remain undecided.

Clinton led among voters aged 45 and older, while Sanders held a 17-point lead among younger voters. Sanders trailed Clinton in every region of the state, except for western Massachusetts, on the border of his home state of Vermont. Among men, Sanders led Clinton 49 percent to 42 percent, but he trailed Clinton among women, earning just 36 percent to Clinton's 55 percent.

About seven-in-10 likely voters — 68 percent — indicated that they would definitely be voting for the candidate they currently had in mind, with 18 percent saying they could change their mind and the other 14 percent undecided about their eventual decision.

Massachusetts is one of several states where Sanders is expected to be competitive on Super Tuesday, along with Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and his home state of Vermont.

The telephone poll was conducted Feb. 25-27, surveying 500 likely Democratic primary voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.