New Poll Shows New Hampshire Is Definitely Back "In Play"

Sanders supporters had hoped that the Democratic debate would hurt Hillary Clinton and move Bernie Sanders closer to her in the polls -- making him a really viable candidate in the presidential race. That didn't happen. In fact, Clinton's strong debate performance may have done just the opposite -- convince Democrats that she is the right candidate for the nomination.

And that includes the state of New Hampshire -- a state once considered solidly behind the candidacy of Bernie Sanders. I have already posted about two polls taken in New Hampshire since the debate. One showed Sanders clinging to about a 7 point lead there, and the other showed Clinton leading by 2 points (within the poll's margin of error). I said they showed that New Hampshire is once again in play for both candidates.

Now a new poll has been issued for New Hampshire. The Public Policy Polling survey was done between October 16th and 18th of a random sample of 393 New Hampshire Democrats, and has a margin of error of 4.9 points.

This poll shows a significant post-debate shift among New Hampshire Democrats. In August, this same poll showed Sanders leading by 7 points. But now it has Clinton in front by 8 points. That's a huge shift of 15 points.

It's still at least three months before New Hampshire voters go to the polls and make their real choice, and more changes could occur. But I believe that state is no longer a lock for Sanders -- and either candidate could win there. This is bad news for Bernie Sanders. If he doesn't win New Hampshire by a fairly large margin, he will have no chance in the states that follow.

NOTE -- This poll was done before Webb dropped out of the race. That's why he is included in the survey.