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Trump widens New Hampshire lead, Sanders loses some to Clinton

(L-R) Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump, Senator Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz talk during a commercial break in the Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, February 6, 2016. (AFP photo)

Only two days before the New Hampshire primaries, US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has widened his already comfortable state-wide lead over the GOP field, while Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has lost some of his edge over Hillary Clinton, a new poll shows.

The CNN/WMUR tracking poll which was released on Sunday showed that Trump’s two-digit lead over the Republican field in New Hampshire has gotten a boost with 33 percent support, giving him a healthy 17 point edge over his nearest competitor, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, with 16 percent support.

Trump’s lead shrunk to 11 points after finishing second in the Iowa caucuses, where Texas Senator Ted Cruz managed to defeat him by a 3 point margin.

The latest poll found Cruz trailing Rubio with 14 percent support, followed by Ohio Governor John Kasich at 11 percent, Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 7 percent, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina at 7 percent, Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie at 2 percent, and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 2 percent.

The poll was completed during the Saturday night’s televised GOP presidential debate and the results do not reflect the debate itself.

The survey also found that a sizable 30 percent of likely GOP voters are still trying to decide whom to support, 4 points down since the immediate post-Iowa projections.

Another interesting finding was that two-thirds of likely Republican primary voters expected a Trump to win on Tuesday, slightly up since Iowa.

Sanders still trumping Clinton

On the Democratic side, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders held a 58 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters, well ahead of Clinton's 35 percent.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders speak during the Democratic debate at the University of New Hampshire on February 4, 2016. (AFP photo)

This means the race between the two candidates has become tighter than right after the Iowa caucuses, when Sanders led Clinton by a 2-to-1 margin.

A decisive majority of participants - 66 percent - predicted a Sanders win in New Hampshire, while only 21 percent said the same about the former first lady.

Sanders put out a stunning performance in Iowa earlier this week, where he was virtually tied with Clinton, scoring only 0.3 percent less votes.


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