Pete Buttigieg leads the 2020 Democratic presidential field in Iowa, leapfrogging over Elizabeth Warren, according to a new poll.
Buttigieg is the first choice for 25% of likely caucusgoers in the first-in-the-nation state compared to Warren’s 16%, a CNN/Des Moines Register survey released late Saturday found. The research shows the mayor of South Bend, Indiana’s popularity has shot up 16 percentage points since the poll was conducted in September.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is the top candidate for 15% of those surveyed, while another 15% of respondents said their No. 1 pick was Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar notched up 6% support, while Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, along with Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, earned 3% apiece. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has not officially declared his last-minute bid for the White House, attracted 2%. The other hopefuls gained 1% or less.
Warren, the senior senator for Massachusetts, was in front of the primary pack when CNN and the Des Moines Register polled Iowa Democrats in September, slipping 6 percentage points from 22% since the beginning of fall. The survey also records Biden’s continual slide in public opinion since the summer, down another 5 percentage points over the same time period. In contrast, Sanders’ approval jumped by 4 percentage points.
“This is the first poll that shows Buttigieg as a stand-alone front-runner,” said J. Ann Selzer, whose firm produced the research. “There have been four candidates that have sort of jostled around in a pack together, but he has a sizable lead over the nearest contender — 9 points. So this is a new status for him.”
The survey captures responses from 500 likely Democratic caucusgoers between Nov. 8 and Nov. 13. Its results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
