The new Quinnipiac poll results released on April 6 revealed something shocking about the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary: Hillary Clinton’s lead, which stood at 22 percent in other polls, has virtually disappeared.
According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, it currently stands at only 6 percent over Bernie Sanders. The Sanders campaign has clearly made Pennsylvania a priority, and it has proven beneficial with the margin closing by 16 percent in recent weeks.
The Republican poll numbers saw Donald Trump continue to poll well among likely Republican voters. Trump finished with 39 percent, while Ted Cruz earned 30 percent, and Pennsylvania native John Kasich polled at 24 percent. The poll did show that Kasich performed favorably in head-to-head matchups with his Democratic opponents.
According to poll results, Clinton and Sanders would both be defeated by 16 and 6 percent respectively in a general election with Pittsburgh native Kasich. Both Democrats would come out on top in an election against Donald Trump. A final shocking head-to-head poll result saw Sanders beating Cruz by 8 percent, while Clinton would tie the Texas senator. The poll surveyed 1,737 participants in Pennsylvania: 578 likely Republican and 514 likely Democrat voters.
The poll found significant gender gaps between likely voters in the Democratic primary. Men supported Sanders 51-43 percent, while women supported Clinton 56-38 percent. Sanders also maintained his significant lead among voters aged 17 to 44 with a 67-27 percent lead.
Sanders has made up significant ground and is making a late challenge with just over two weeks remaining before the April 26 primary. Since opening his first campaign office in Pennsylvania on March 22, Sanders has been campaigning heavily in the state. His appearance in Pittsburgh drew an estimated crowd of 8,500, Sanders also drew over 10,000 at Temple University and followed it up with a labor union event in Philadelphia.
Hillary Clinton has also begun making appearances in the state. Her rally at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Wednesday evening drew an estimated 2,000 with up to 1,400 spilling out of the gymnasium. Clinton also appeared at the same labor convention in Philadelphia, going on before Sanders. President Bill Clinton has also made campaign stops in Erie, Scranton, and Philadelphia in support of Secretary Clinton.
With less than two weeks to go and Clinton’s gap continuing to close, the Democratic Primary race in Pennsylvania is heating up. What once was looking to be a landslide Clinton victory is now looking increasingly uncertain.
Featured image by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images.
