Democratic strategist Michael Starr Hopkins said Monday that progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has the most on the line in the Iowa caucuses, arguing that her fundraising will hinge on whether or not she performs well among Democratic voters in the state.
“If she doesn’t do well tonight then her fundraising’s going to dry up,” Hopkins, a founding partner of Northern Starr Strategies, told Hill.TV. “That was kind of the worry a year ago and it’s going to be the big worry now.”
Hopkins predicted that the first-in-the-nation caucus could also be especially critical for former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, noting that the Democratic presidential has put a lot of time and resources into the Hawkeye State.
Recent polling shows that the race in the first-in-the-nation state remains fluid even as Iowans prepare to head to tonight’s caucuses.
An Iowa poll released on Friday by Park Street Strategies showed a virtual four-way tie at the top.
Former Vice President Joe Biden held a narrow 20 percent lead over the rest of the field followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 18 percent. Warren and Buttigieg were then tied at 17 percent each.
However, last-minute polling on Monday for the Democratic group Focus on Rural America found Buttigieg pulling ahead with 19 percent of the vote followed by Sanders with 17 percent of the vote.
Warren and Biden, meanwhile, each received 15 percent support. Warren’s share dropped 3 points, while Biden saw a 9-point dip from the previous early January survey, suggesting downward trajectories.
—Tess Bonn
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