Poll: O’Malley supporters in Iowa likely to pick Sanders over Clinton

by Mark Hensch - 01/29/16 6:04 PM ET

More than half of Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley’s supporters in Iowa pick Bernie Sanders as their second choice, a new poll found.

About 57 percent of O’Malley supporters would go with Sanders, compared with 27 percent who would pick Hillary Clinton, Public Policy Polling found.

{mosads}Iowa’s caucus system means the Hawkeye State could hinge on who O’Malley’s supporters move to.

The poll found 48 percent support overall for Clinton in Iowa, with Sanders at 40 percent and O’Malley at 7 percent.

“We’ve found Hillary Clinton leading in Iowa by 6-8 points in our last two polls,” said Dean Debnam, president of the polling firm.

“Bernie Sanders will likely make up some ground from Martin O’Malley voters moving toward him. To pull the upset, he will need large numbers of voters who aren’t currently registered Democrats to show up on his behalf Monday night.”

Clinton’s voters are the most committed of any Iowa Democrats, PPP also found.

About 88 percent say they are firmly dedicated to supporting her, compared with 74 percent for Sanders.

The PPP poll of 851 likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa was conducted via online and telephone interviews Jan. 26–27. It has a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.