Biden leads Democratic primary field in Iowa: poll

Former Vice President Joe Biden maintained his lead in Iowa ahead of the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, according to a new poll that also shows former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gaining ground on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who finished second.

Biden is the top choice among 24 percent of surveyed Iowans in the Focus on Rural America poll released Monday. Biden’s support fell just 1 point since a September poll. 

The ranking of the top candidates remained the same since September, but Buttigieg and Sanders saw increases in support while Warren had a decrease, placing all the three candidates closer to each other.   

Warren remained in second place with 18 percent, a 5-point decrease since the September poll. 

Buttigieg remained in third, but jumped 4 points from September to 16 percent.

Similarly, Sanders maintained his fourth place spot, but had a 5-point boost to 14 percent. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) trails Sanders in fifth place, at 11 percent, a 3-point increase for the senator since September. No other candidates registered double-digit support in the poll. 

Twenty-nine percent of surveyed Iowans said Klobuchar is the “best” candidate “for the needs and interests of rural Iowa,” making her the top candidate on the issue. The top four candidates trailed Klobuchar when questioned on rural interests, with Warren at 15 percent, Sanders at 14 percent, and Biden and Buttigieg each at 13 percent, according to the poll. 

Biden was also overwhelmingly the candidate respondents said was “best equipped to handle the current conflicts and tensions between the U.S. and Iran and other global hot spots,” with 42 percent choosing the former vice president, according to the poll. 

The poll surveyed 500 likely caucus goers. It was conducted between Jan. 15 and 18 with a combination of cellphone and landlines. There is a 4.4 percentage point margin of error.