A new poll shows that nearly half of Americans want US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to continue his bid for the 2016 presidential race despite having a slim chance to secure his party’s nomination.

The poll, conducted by Morning Consult/Vox and released on Friday, reveals that 48 percent of Americans participating in the survey believe that Sanders should keep campaigning while 36 percent believe he should step down and leave rival Hillary Clinton and Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump to compete up until the end.

The support for Senator Sanders to remain a presidential contestant crosses party lines, with 47 percent of Democrats, 48 percent of Republicans, and 52 percent of independents supporting the progressive, according to the poll.

This is while public outcry for a third party alternative represents a stark departure from the Democratic Party’s efforts to quietly rush the Vermont Senator off the stage.

Sanders, whether he will consider running as a third-party candidate remains to be seen, but the poll indicated that he would be a viable candidate for the presidency if he decided to.

The survey was carried out right after Sander’s loss in California primary and included a sample of 1,247 respondents nationwide.

Meanwhile, Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, asserted that the Vermont Senator would continue to play a major role in the Democratic Party after the former secretary of state garnered enough delegates to claim her party’s nomination in the recent primaries.

"I think the role that Bernie will play as we go forward is going to be significant in terms of not only the issue of unity, but also the issue of continuing to galvanize what I think is a very powerful and insurgent progressive, populist side to the party," Grijalva said.

US Republican Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) introduces Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at a campaign rally at Bonanza High School on February 14, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP photo)

"We will have a serious discussion about [his] role, not just short-term at the convention but long-term, in terms of the campaign/movement that generated around his campaign," he added.

On Friday, the Vermont Senator met with President Barack Obama at the White House, where he announced he will support the fight to defeat Trump in the November election.

More than 12 million voters cast their ballots for Sanders during the primaries, which is still more than 3.7 million short of Clinton.