Sanders greets supporters following a town hall meeting in Grinnell, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall / AP)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has shot ahead of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time in the crucial primary state of Iowa.

The Guardian reports:

A Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday found that 41% of likely Democratic primary voters in Iowa said they would vote for Sanders, while 40% said they would vote for the former secretary of state. Though Sanders’ edge is within the margin of error of 3.4 percentage points, Clinton led Sanders by double digits in Iowa in July. Averages of all polling in the state show Clinton with a quickly eroding lead that nevertheless remains in the double-digits.

The poll comes as Clinton continues to be dogged by the controversy over her use of a private email server, which she apologized for in an ABC interview this week after twice declining to do so. The release of the poll also comes amid ongoing deliberations over a potential run by Vice-President Joe Biden, who is said to be seriously considering a run against Clinton in the Democratic primary.

While Clinton remains on top in national polling and is still the party’s frontrunner, the surprising success of Sanders’ insurgent campaign has excited the Democratic primary the party once worried was going to be a coronation. Nonetheless, the shift is a marked one, recalling the 2008 race when Clinton, then the presumptive nominee, faltered and finished a disappointing third behind Barack Obama and John Edwards.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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