Poll: Sanders holds slim lead over Clinton nationally

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has a slight lead over rival Hillary Clinton nationally, according to a McClatchy-Marist poll released Wednesday.

Sanders has a 2-point lead over Clinton, 49 to 47 percent.

{mosads}He has more support among those ages 29 and younger, Hispanics, independents and liberals, according to the poll.

Clinton has a lead among those 60 and older, African-Americans and Democrats.

The poll also suggests Democrats may have a difficult time uniting behind a candidate after their increasingly contentious primary fight.

One-quarter of voters supporting Sanders say they wouldn’t back Clinton in a general election, the new McClatchy-Marist poll released Wednesday finds. About 69 percent of Sanders supporters say that they would support Clinton if she were to become the party’s nominee.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Sanders trails Clinton by 5.9 points nationally.

The poll, though, comes as the Vermont senator picks up momentum after winning seven of the last eight Democratic contests.

Clinton still holds the edge in pledged delegates and a massive advantage among superdelegates.

Sanders, touting his primary wins, says he is beginning to convince Democratic superdelegates to back him instead of Clinton.

Sanders has also outraised his rival, setting a new fundraising record in March, when his campaign brought in $44 million. 

The McClatchy-Marist poll was conducted March 29–31, with a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.