Democratic Primary: Biden Beats Sanders By 15 Points In Michigan, New Poll Says

A poll released Monday by Monmouth University shows former Vice President Joe Biden beating Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 15 points in the upcoming Michigan primary.

The survey shows Biden with 51% support among Michigan primary voters, in comparison to 36% for Sanders.

Michigan, along with Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington, will all hold Democratic primaries on Tuesday. Michigan will be the biggest prize of the day, with the state awarding 125 pledged delegates.

Sanders is hoping to win the state in order to boost his campaign, after Biden won 10 out of the 14 states on Super Tuesday.

"Every state is terribly important, and I think coming Tuesday, maybe Michigan is the most important state," Sanders told reporters in Detroit on Friday.

Sanders is hoping to use his pro-union and anti-free trade platform to win over disaffected working class voters in the state. These voters helped Sanders land an unexpected victory against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Michigan in 2016.

Yet Biden has been showing support among the groups that voted for Sanders in 2016, and has also been winning over endorsements from unions in the state. In addition, Biden has shown strong favorability among African-American voters, who comprise about 14% of Michigan’s population.

If Sanders loses to Biden in Michigan, it could allow for the Biden campaign to have an insurmountable lead in delegates. But Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, has said that “Michigan can defy expectations” as it did in 2016.