New poll shows Clinton, Sanders in tight California race

SACRAMENTO, May 26 (UPI) -- With less than two weeks to go before Californians vote in the primary, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are locked in a statistical tie in the state's presidential primary, a new poll shows.

The survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California found Clinton leading Sanders, 48 percent to 46 percent, within the survey's margin of error. The group's last survey in March had Clinton leading 48 percent to 41 percent.

The poll surveyed self-described likely voters who are both Democrats and independents. As has been the case in past states, the split between Democrats and independents is a crucial one.

Clinton leads among registered Democrats, 49 percent to 41 percent, while Sanders leads among independents who say they will vote in the open Democratic primary, though the poll did not specify by how much.

Both Clinton and Sanders lead presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump by wide margins in a hypothetical general election matchup, though Sanders performs slightly better than Clinton in that category.

Sanders has made it a point to remind voters how crucial California could be in altering the trajectory of the race. With her large lead in superdelegates, Clinton is almost assured of receiving enough pledged delegates in California and four other states voting June 7 to pass the total necessary to clinch the nomination.

Sanders, however, has pledged to continue his campaign all the way to the Democratic convention and denying Clinton a win in the nation's largest state would bolster his argument to superdelegates that he is the stronger general election candidate.

The New York Times reports Sanders has pledged to spend heavily in California's large and expensive media markets on television advertising. In a shift from other contests of late, Clinton has begun spending on television ads to counter Sanders and bolster her campaign in the Golden State, seeking to avoid a demoralizing loss as the primary calendar draws to a close.

The poll queried 1,704 likely voters in California from May 13-22. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.

CA poll