Poll: Buttigieg first in Iowa
Pete Buttigieg, whose presidential campaign has been steadily gaining ground in Iowa over recent weeks, sits narrowly atop the 2020 Democratic field in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, according to a survey.
A Monmouth University poll published Tuesday shows the South Bend, Ind., mayor is the first choice of 22 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers — outrunning all other rivals in Iowa for the party’s nomination to challenge President Donald Trump.
Former Vice President Joe Biden ranks in second place with 19 percent support, followed closely by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts with 18 percent and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont with 13 percent.
Although no other candidate cracked double-digit support, 5 percent of likely caucusgoers favored Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and California Sen. Kamala Harris, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang each received 3 percent. The remainder of the Democratic pack achieved 2 percent support or less.
Buttigieg has seen improved performances in several recent Iowa surveys, climbing into the top-tier of White House contenders and jockeying among Biden, Sanders and Warren three months from the first nominating contest.
He ranked in third place with 13 percent support in a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll released in October — behind Biden with 18 percent and Warren with 17 percent — and in a Quinnipiac University survey last week, he trailed top-finisher Warren by only 1 percentage point.
Buttigieg’s showing in Tuesday’s poll represents a 14-point gain in Iowa since Monmouth’s previous statewide survey in August, when he was at 8 percent.
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted Nov. 7-11, surveying 451 likely Democratic caucusgoers. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.
