Hillary Clinton is riding high in most polls over her leading Democratic rivals, but there is still a strong well of support for her most liberal opponent, even in Clinton's adopted home state of New York. Zack Fink filed the following report.

Although Hillary Clinton represented New York in the U.S. Senate for eight years, she hasn't locked up her support among the state's progressive voters, some of whom are backing a self-proclaimed socialist from neighboring Vermont, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Former state Senator Tom Duane is the latest New York Democrat to balk at Hillary and support her leading challenger.

"I have long admired him. And now, not only will I have a chance to vote for him, but I will also get a chance to fight for him here in New York State," Duane said.

Earlier this month, the Working Families Party decided to go with Sanders.

"We are proud to endorse Bernie Sanders," said Bill Lipton of the Working Families Party. "We did an online poll of our members, and 87 percent came out resoundingly supporting Bernie Sanders."

Local supporters of Sanders say they like his message about taking on corporate interests. Some cited his foreign policy positions, noting that Sanders voted against the Iraq war while Clinton supported it.

Zephyr Teachout, who took on the Democratic establishment last year when she ran against Andrew Cuomo for governor, likes Sanders for supporting greater regulation of banks.

"Bernie Sanders is clearly supportive of Glass-Steagall. He himself has proposed legislation to take on banks. These are things that are really important to me," Teachout said. "Despite the fact that the financial sector is here, most New Yorkers haven't benefited from the incredible concentration of wealth in the very top 1 percent of the financial center."

Local groups dismiss concerns about any backlash for failing to get on board the Clinton train.

"We respect Secretary Clinton a lot. She has run on our line. But look, our job is to stand up for our values and to support our base, and we are not going to flinch from doing that," Lipton said.

On Thursday, Sanders was endorsed by the Communication Workers of America.

"You have a history of one of the great unions in the United States of America," Sanders said.

In a statement, the Clinton campaign said, "Hillary Clinton has wide and deep support from progressives in New York, like Mayor de Blasio and Public Advocate Tish James. They know her tireless record of fighting for women, children and families."