Des Moines, IA – A New York Times/Siena College poll shows a tight race between the top four Democratic presidential candidates. The poll is of likely Democratic caucusgoers.
Which of these Democrats would be your first choice in the Iowa caucuses?
- Elizabeth Warren | 22%
- Bernie Sanders | 19%
- Pete Buttigieg | 18%
- Joe Biden | 17%
- Amy Klobuchar | 4%
- Kamala Harris | 3%
- Andrew Yang | 3%
The poll appears to show a Democrat base that is moving the policy goalposts to the left. Progressive (socialist) Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) lead the poll with a combined 41 percent of the vote. Former Vice President Joe Biden rounds out the top four with 17 percent. Candidates with less than 3 percent support are not shown. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
Biden is facing a tough race in light of this new poll. His gaffes opened up space for Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. While the ex-V.P. still leads many national polls, this may be a precursor to disaster.
Likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers were asked if they support “A single-payer health care system, which would abolish private insurance and provide every American with a government health insurance plan.” Astonishingly, 43% strongly support, and 30% somewhat support the policy. That’s right, nearly three in four likely caucusgoers in some capacity support forcing people to give up their private health insurance.
Plenty of time remains for winds to shift, but it appears Democratic candidates will be forced to support more radical policies if they are to win the nomination.