Poll: Clinton Leads Sanders By 31 Points Ahead of Debate

Hillary Clinton remains the clear front-runner on a national level for the Democratic nomination, according to a new ABC/Washington Post poll released Friday that puts her at 31 percentage points against Bernie Sanders, even though more people think the Vermont senator is more honest and trustworthy.

Heading into Saturday night's debate, Clinton received 59 percent of the Democratic and Democratic-leaning adults surveyed, compared to 28 percent for Sanders and just five percent for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

The former secretary of state also polled higher than Sanders on other issues, except on honesty. O'Malley was not included in that part of the poll:

• Honest and trustworthy: Sanders, 44 percent; Clinton 38 percent;
• Handling terrorism: Clinton, 64 percent; Sanders, 26 percent;
• Closer to voters on issues: Clinton, 54 percent; Sanders, 37 percent;
• Understands voters' problems: Clinton, 51 percent; Sanders, 38 percent.

However, Sanders remains optimistic, and told The Huffington Post on Thursday that he is already writing his inauguration speech, as "it is a very sobering thing to be thinking about oneself as president of the United States and the enormous responsibilities that go with that."

The poll was conducted by  Langer Research Associates between Dec. 10-13, included 1,002 adults overall, and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 points among Democrats.

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