Bernie Sanders chats with Hillary Clinton as the candidates take the stage during the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, at Wynn Las Vegas.
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016 | 8:18 a.m.
The two Democratic candidates for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, are virtually tied headed into the Nevada caucuses on Saturday, according to a CNN/ORC poll released today.
About 48 percent of likely caucus participants say they support Clinton, while 47 percent support Sanders. The last CNN/ORC poll from October showed Clinton up by 16 points, with 50 percent voter support.
Clinton holds more support with women voters, while Sanders continues to perform well with voters younger than 55.
While the candidates are almost tied for who would best handle the economy, Clinton outperforms Sanders on health care, race relations, foreign policy and immigration.
Still, 42 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers ranked the economy as the most important issue in deciding how to vote, with 19 percent choosing health care and 11 percent choosing social issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Respondents were split over whether Clinton or Sanders “best represents the values of Democrats,” though 56 percent believed Clinton had the best chance of winning the general election in November compared to Sanders’ 40 percent.
The poll also shows 25 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers are still trying to decide who to support, compared to 62 percent who said they have definitely decided and 13 percent leaning toward a candidate.
The poll also looked at the Republican caucuses, which will be held Tuesday.
Donald Trump received 45 percent of the support from likely caucusgoers, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 19 percent and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 17 percent. The other three GOP candidates polled under 10 percent each, with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush bringing up the rear with 1 percent support.
Like Democratic caucusgoers, Republicans are still relatively undecided, with 26 percent saying they are still trying to decide on a candidate and 15 percent saying that they are leaning toward someone.
Trump polled far better than the other Republican candidates on issues such as the economy, illegal immigration, foreign policy and handling ISIS. Social issues were much closer, with 28 percent of respondents saying Trump would do the best, 21 percent saying Cruz and 20 percent saying Rubio.
Responses were also closer on who best represents Republican values: 35 percent said Trump, while 22 percent said Cruz and 20 percent said Rubio. Likely caucusgoers also said Trump had by far the best chance of winning the general election in November.
The poll was conducted via cell phone and landline between Feb. 10 and 15, sampling 1,006 respondents. The margin of sampling error for likely Republican caucusgoers was plus or minus 6.5 percentage points, and for Democrats it was plus or minus 6 percentage points.
Polls have been few and far between in Nevada, but the most recent results hold consistent with a poll paid for by the conservative Washington Free Beacon released earlier this week. That poll showed Clinton and Sanders tied, each with with 45 percent of voter support.
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