With less than 50 days to go until the Iowa caucuses get underway, a new poll from the Des Moines Register delivers an important boost for Sanders.

The Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll, conducted between December 7 and 10 surveyed 404 likely Democratic caucus-goers. It found that Bernie Sanders was the first choice of 39 per cent of voters, and the second choice of another 33 per cent.

That closes the margin in Iowa to just 9 per cent between himself and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The poll also found Sanders to be one of Iowa’s favorite Democrats. 80 per cent of respondents said they had a favorable view of Sanders, while just 12 per cent said they thought unfavorably of him. In comparison, 14 per cent said they had an unfavorable view of Hillary Clinton.

Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager said that the poll proves they have made a lot of ground in the first voting state of Iowa.

“We have come a long way in Iowa since we were at 5 percent in the same poll last January and very few people knew who Bernie Sanders was or what he stood for. This poll shows there is a very clear path to victory in Iowa,” said Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ campaign manager.

“With big leads among young people and voters who would be first-time caucus-goers, our job is to do all that we can to make certain that voter turnout is high among less traditional voters. Clearly we have also got to make certain that seniors in Iowa understand that no one in Congress has fought harder to defend Social Security and Medicare and that, as president, Bernie will take on the pharmaceutical industry and lower prescription drug prices,” Weaver said.

J Ann Selzer, founder of the firm that conducted the poll said Sanders was attracting people that together can be a force to be reckoned with.

“Bernie Sanders has proven to be a worthy adversary,” she said.

A new national poll, also released this morning shows support for Sanders are at their highest ever levels.