New poll suggests the Democratic primary is a lovefest
Especially compared to the Republican contest.
Across from the turbulent and divisive Republican primary, the Democratic presidential nomination process has at times seemed downright sedated. That isn’t to say the campaigns haven’t traded their respective shots — theyhave, even if they haven’t taken it to the same level as some GOPers.
But among voters, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are pretty, pretty, pretty good.
A new poll Sunday from CBS News shows Sanders holding a 14 percentage point lead in New Hampshire and Clinton holding a 5 point lead in Iowa. However, most Democratic voters say they’d be cool with whoever ultimately wins.
In New Hampshire, 76 percent of Sanders supporters say they “generally like’’ what Clinton is saying in the campaign, but they just like Sanders more. The exact same amount, 76 percent, of Clinton supporters say they generally like what Sanders is saying, but simply like their candidate more.
Those numbers are almost exactly the same in Iowa — 74 percent of Sanders supporters like Clinton; 78 percent of Clinton supporters like Sanders.
It’s worth noting that, in both states, around 20 percent of Sanders supporters say they do not like what Clinton is saying, versus the roughly 10 percent of Clinton supporters who don’t like what’s coming from the Vermont senator.
Still, compare that to the Republican primary, in which a plurality of voters say they would not “under any circumstances’’ vote for Donald Trump, despite his dominate leads in New Hampshire and national polls.
In New Hampshire, Democratic voters are similarly content with the tone of the race. Seventy-seven percent said that Sanders’ level of criticism of Clinton was “about right;’’ 81 percent thought Clinton’s level of criticism toward Sanders was appropriate.
Again, the proportions in Iowa were about the same.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side Saturday, Jeb Bush called Trump “a jerk.’’
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