Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is leading Hillary Clinton among the Democratic electorate by 9 percentage points among independent voters in Iowa, according to a new poll from the Des Moines Register and The Des Moines Independent.
Sanders leads among independents by 14 points among Democrats, according the poll.
The Democratic presidential frontrunner is seen leading Clinton by 10 points among independents.
“If we take this poll at face value, we’re seeing the same things that we saw from past Democratic primary races: The candidates are far apart in Iowa,” said Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight, a site that uses sophisticated statistical models to forecast the outcome of upcoming presidential elections.
The poll also found that Sanders leads among self-identified Democrats by 6 points.
Sanders is viewed as more popular among self also than Clinton among Democrats.
The Iowa poll, conducted by Iowa Public Radio and Public Policy Polling on March 11-12, found that 42 percent of Iowa Democrats support Sanders while 42 percent support Clinton.
Sanders leads with Democratic voters by 12 points, while Clinton leads by 8 points among Republicans.
The poll found that 57 percent of independents support Sanders.
Sanders is leading among independents at a slightly higher level among independents than among Republicans, according Silver.
He leads among Republicans by 11 points.
Silver also noted that Sanders is outperforming Clinton among Democratic voters who have never been affiliated with either major party, such as those who say they voted for Obama in 2008 or 2012, and those who identify as liberal.
Sanders leads Clinton by 7 points among those who have ever voted for the Democratic nominee, compared to Clinton’s 8 points.
Clinton leads Sanders among those whose votes were cast in either 2008 or 2014, according a survey from Quinnipiac University, a Democratic polling firm.
The Des Moines Poll was conducted by Public Policy pollster Jennifer Duffy and surveyed 1,037 Iowa voters.
