Net Favorability Rises For Clinton And Falls For Sanders

It looks like Bernie Sanders may have peaked in popularity with Democrats, while Hillary Clinton is seeing a resurgence in her popularity. Here is how the Gallup Poll describes the results of their polling on the net favorability (favorable minus unfavorable) of the two candidates:

These results come from Gallup Daily tracking of the images of main presidential candidates, which began in July 2015. The Feb. 18-24 results mark the first time that Gallup is reporting the data using one-week rather than two-week rolling averages.

In recent weeks, Clinton's campaign entered something of a rough patch -- though not her first of the cycle -- as she was unable to pull out a decisive win in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 and was pummeled in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9. Sanders, initially seen as a fringe candidate by many political analysts, suddenly became more popular than Clinton, a stark reversal of his 28-point deficit in net favorable scores he held in July 2015.

However, after Sanders' image reached its high mark in late January/early February, it has fallen steadily. His current net favorable is his lowest since late December, a time when Sanders was comparatively less known to many Democrats. Clinton has now taken back her title as the most popular presidential candidate with Democrats, and with her predicted victory in the South Carolina primary Saturday, she appears to be back on a winning trajectory.