Ties Clinton

Sanders ties Clinton in national poll

By Nick Gass

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are effectively tied among Democratic voters, according to the results of a Bloomberg Politics poll released Thursday.

Of the 311 people who indicated that they have voted or will vote in their state's Democratic primary or caucus, 49 percent said they support Sanders, while 48 percent indicated that they prefer Clinton and the remaining 3 percent said they are not sure.

In terms of the candidates' individual qualities and positions, Clinton generally outdrew Sanders on issues related to foreign policy, Congress, effectiveness and temperament, while majorities gave the Vermont senator higher marks for fighting hard for the middle class, honesty and trustworthiness and reining in Wall Street institutions.

Asked about a series of concerns for both candidates, majorities said they were neither bothered by the FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server (35 percent to 64 percent) nor by the fact that her support is largely concentrated among older voters (24 percent to 75 percent). On the other hand, voters were split on her changing views on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (46 percent bothered to 48 percent unbothered) and a majority said her paid speeches to Wall Street firms were a concern (54 percent to 45 percent).

For Sanders, majorities said his self-description as a "democratic socialist" did not bother him, nor do his frequent mentions of income inequality or the fact that his support is concentrated among younger voters. On the other hand, 60 percent to 39 percent said they were bothered by his lack of foreign policy experience.

In a series of hypothetical matchups with Republican opponents, Clinton and Sanders hold varying leads over both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, though only Sanders earned more support than Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who led Clinton by four points.

Selzer & Co. conducted the poll from March 19-22, surveying 1,000 adults nationwide with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. For the Democratic subsample, the margin of error is plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.