Washington, November 3 (RHC)-- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has hit 50 percent support for the first time since she launched her campaign almost six months ago, according to a new national poll. The latest NBC News/Survey Monkey online poll shows that the former Secretary of State's support among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters has increased by 9 points since mid-September.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from the U.S. state of Vermont, standing at 30 percent support in the poll, remains an important rival for Clinton, as he has strong support among young voters and others who are not satisfied with the government.

The poll, surveyed 8,706 adults online and comes after Vice President Joe Biden, former U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee have declared themselves out of the presidential race.

Hillary Clinton got a 4-point bounce in the poll after the first Democratic debate was held on October 13. She also saw another 5-point uptick after Biden, Webb and Lincoln dropped out and she testified before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on October 22 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

During the first Democratic presidential debate of this year held on October 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Clinton and Sanders discussed their approach to growing U.S. inequality and aiding the middle class, with both arguing that their policies would be tougher on Wall Street and the large banks.

Even though Sanders' emphasis on U.S. income inequality and influence of corporate money on elections and government has helped him attract large crowds on the campaign trail, Clinton still leads the Democratic presidential field.