Sanders supporters had hoped that the Democratic debate would hurt Hillary Clinton and move Bernie Sanders closer to her in the polls -- making him a really viable candidate in the presidential race. That didn't happen. In fact, Clinton's strong debate performance may have done just the opposite -- convince Democrats that she is the right candidate for the nomination.
And that includes the state of New Hampshire -- a state once considered solidly behind the candidacy of Bernie Sanders. I have already posted about two polls taken in New Hampshire since the debate. One showed Sanders clinging to about a 7 point lead there, and the other showed Clinton leading by 2 points (within the poll's margin of error). I said they showed that New Hampshire is once again in play for both candidates.
Now a new poll has been issued for New Hampshire. The Public Policy Polling survey was done between October 16th and 18th of a random sample of 393 New Hampshire Democrats, and has a margin of error of 4.9 points.
This poll shows a significant post-debate shift among New Hampshire Democrats. In August, this same poll showed Sanders leading by 7 points. But now it has Clinton in front by 8 points. That's a huge shift of 15 points.
It's still at least three months before New Hampshire voters go to the polls and make their real choice, and more changes could occur. But I believe that state is no longer a lock for Sanders -- and either candidate could win there. This is bad news for Bernie Sanders. If he doesn't win New Hampshire by a fairly large margin, he will have no chance in the states that follow.
NOTE -- This poll was done before Webb dropped out of the race. That's why he is included in the survey.