Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has seen a sharp jump in support in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, according to a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll.
The poll found that Sanders is the first choice of 30 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers, just seven points behind Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Support for Clinton has dropped to 37 percent from 57 percent in May, reflecting the first time the former Secretary of State has dropped below 50 percent in polls conducted by the Register and Bloomberg Politics.
The poll suggests caucusgoers are not swinging to Sanders as a vote against Clinton, with 96 percent of his backers saying they support him and his ideas. Just 2 percent said they're motivated by opposition to Clinton.
With Clinton's lead narrowing to the same margins seen during her previous presidential run, pollster J. Ann Selzer told the Register, "This feels like 2008 all over again."
The poll is somewhat of an outlier, however, as the RealClearPolitics average shows Clinton with a nearly 22 percentage point lead in Iowa.
On the Republican side, the poll showed a sharp jump in support for real estate mogul Donald Trump, who is now widely seen as the Republican frontrunner.
The poll found that 23 percent of likely Republican caucusgoers support Trump, up from just 4 percent in a poll conducted in May.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has also seen a surge in support from the previous poll and now sits in second place at 18 percent.
The other GOP candidates are in the single digits, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 8 percent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at 6 percent and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina at 5 percent.
The DMR/Bloomberg Politics survey of 404 likely Democratic caucusgoes and 400 likely Republican caucusgoes was conducted August 23rd through 26th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
(Photo Credit: Marc Nozell)
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