Final New Hampshire Primary Poll Shows Warren Is Top Second Choice, Sanders Still Leading

Seems like former vice president Joe Biden made the wise choice in focusing more on the South Carolina primary slated February 29 than on New Hampshire, which takes place Tuesday.

The final CNN tracking poll before the New Hampshire primary shows him in third place with 11% support behind frontrunners Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, with 29% and former mayor Pete Buttigieg (22%), who won the delegate race in the chaotic Iowa primary held February 3. Biden is only 1% ahead of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and 4% ahead of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-MN.

Biden's chances of winning New Hampshire are complicated by Warren, who respondents chose as their top second choice candidate. Twenty percent of respondents identified Warren as their second-choice candidate compared to Biden's 9%.

More bad news for Biden: only 6% of New Hampshirite Democrats consider Biden the candidate most likely to win their state, and only 7% of those that said they'd change their minds say they'll choose him, instead.

This latest CNN poll shows New Hampshire is Sanders' to win. The feisty Vermont senator, who champions Medicare For All and a $15 minimum wage, is considered by six in 10 (59%) of New Hampshirite Democrats as the candidate most likely to win the Granite State. Sanders previously polled 56% here. On the other hand, a mere 10% expect Buttigieg to win while only 6% expect Biden or Warren to win.

Sanders is also perceived as the candidate that will beat president Donald Trump on November 3. Thirty percent of respondents say Sanders can get this job done as against 22% who say Biden's this guy and the 13% that chose Buttigieg.

Sanders' voters continue to be the most loyal to their candidate. Forty-two percent of these people say they're committed to voting for Bernie. Among Buttigieg's supporters, this figure is 18%, 14% for Biden, 10% for Warren and 6% for Klobuchar.

Voters that said they'd change their minds say Buttigieg is their top pick. Twenty-six percent of these people say they'll vote for Pete, 15% for Bernie, 10% for Warren and 7% each for Biden and Klobuchar.

The CNN New Hampshire Poll was conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center from February 6 through 9 among a random sample of 365 likely Democratic primary voters and 212 likely Republican primary voters. Results for likely Democratic primary voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5.1%. It is plus or minus 6.7 points among likely Republican primary voters.