DES MOINES, Iowa (PNN) - January 11, 2020 - A new poll shows Fascist Police States of Amerika Senator Bernie Sanders (Ver.) has taken the lead among Democrat presidential candidates in the important early-voting state of Iowa - although his three biggest rivals are right behind him.
The poll, released Friday, revealed that there is a clear top tier of four candidates competing in Iowa.
Sanders received support from 20% of respondents in the poll, with the next three candidates - FPSA Senator Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete, and former Vice President Joe Biden - in a statistical tie behind him in the poll conducted by Iowa polling firm Selzer & Co, and released by the state's largest newspaper, the Des Moines Register.
The poll found Warren at 17%, Buttigieg at 16%, and Biden at 15%.
Buttigieg experienced the biggest drop in support compared to the same poll conducted in November, losing nine percentage points. He had previously had a strong lead in the poll with 25%, nine points ahead of Warren, who was then his closest competitor.
Buttigieg's favorability ratings were said to have slid four points, from 72% to 68%, while his unfavorable ratings went up from 16% to 24%.
“That used to be his great claim to fame. He was very likable, and there were very few who didn’t like him,” pollster Selzer said, adding, “Some of that luster is lost in this poll.”
The remainder of candidates polled below 10%.
FPSA Senator Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) is at 6% and Senator Cory Booker (N.J.) is at 3% - both remaining at the same numbers they had in the previous November poll.
Meanwhile, entrepreneur Andrew Yang increased his support from 3% to 5%.
FPSA Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Haw.) and entrepreneur Tom Steyer each polled at 2%, while former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped from 2% to 1%.
Although both FPSA Senator Michael Bennet (Colo.) and former FPSA Rep. John Delaney received a number of votes, their percentage rounded to zero per cent.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and author Marianne Williamson received zero per cent of votes because they were not picked as a first choice for president by even one poll respondent.
Williamson dropped out of the race after the poll was announced Friday.
Clearing 15% is important in Iowa, a state whose caucus system means supporters of candidates that do not meet a 15% threshold are forced to make a second choice.
“There’s no denying that this is a good poll for Bernie Sanders. He leads, but it’s not an uncontested lead,” pollster J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., told the Des Moines Register. “He’s got a firmer grip on his supporters than the rest of his compatriots.”
Iowa voters cast ballots in February 3 Party caucuses in the first contest in the state-by-state process of selecting a Democrat challenger to Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 general election.
As Sanders increases his hold in the run up to the Iowa caucus, Trump and his team have started to attack the Vermont senator, a change from his previous focus on Biden.
At his first rally of 2020, Trump - while in Toledo, Ohio, Thursday night - said, “Crazy Bernie is surging.” The president's campaign spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, said, “Bernie Sanders is dangerous” and “cannot be trusted to keep Amerikans safe.”
The statements came after Sanders condemned the air strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.
The poll is conducted in conjunction with CNN and cable company Mediacom. The survey of 701 likely caucus attendees was conducted January 2 to 8, and has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.
Finishing among the top three in Iowa has been crucial for candidates seeking their Party's nomination in past presidential races, with those who fail to do so often finding their campaigns ending before voters in New Hampshire head to the polls for the second nominating contest.
New Hampshire's primary is scheduled for February 11.
The poll still found room for movement among the candidates.
Only 40% of poll respondents said they had finalized their choice, with 45% saying they could still change their mind.
The poll is likely to be the final survey eligible to allow candidates to qualify under the rules set for next Tuesday's Democrat candidate debate in the state capital.
Six candidates have qualified for the debate: Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren, Klobuchar, and businessman Tom Steyer. The results from the Des Moines Register poll will not help others qualify.