In First, Buttigieg Leads Iowa Among 2020 Democrats: Poll

In first, Buttigieg leads Iowa among 2020 Democrats: poll

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2019 ) :Pete Buttigieg has vaulted into the lead in the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nominations race in early-voting Iowa, a poll showed Tuesday, highlighting his attention-getting rise at the expense of fellow moderate Joe Biden.

It is the first time the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana has topped a statewide presidential poll, signalling his growing stature as a top-tier candidate in the battle to see who challenges President Donald Trump for the White House next November.

Buttigieg leads the crowded Democratic field with 22 percent support, according to a Monmouth University poll of likely voters in Iowa, which votes first in the nomination process, while Biden came in second with 19 percent.

The two leading progressives in the race, senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, came in at 18 percent and 13 percent respectively. No other candidates were above five percent.

The telephone poll surveyed 451 Iowans who are likely to attend the state's caucuses next February, and the margin of error is plus or minus 4.

6 percentage points.

In national polling, Biden is the frontrunner, and Buttigieg remains in fourth, behind Warren and Sanders.

But the Iowa poll confirms a recent rising trend for Buttigieg.

"Buttigieg is emerging as a top pick for a wide variety of Iowa Democrats," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. "He is doing well with voters regardless of education or ideology." His support surged 14 points since the last Monmouth poll in August, while Biden's slid seven points.

The poll shows that with three months before the caucuses, many Iowans are still not fully committed.

Less than one-third of likely caucusgoers (28 percent) say they are firmly set on their choice of candidate, with 53 percent saying there is a high or moderate possibility they will change their minds.