Ahead of Iowa caucuses, only 40% of voters have made up their mind
The poll interviewed 700 likely caucusgoers between January 2 and January 8.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINFormer Vice President Joe Biden speaks as South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Bernie Sanders all listen during the Democratic U.S. presidential candidates 2020 campaign debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 19, 2019(photo credit: MIKE BLAKE/ REUTERS)
Only 40% of the Iowa Democratic caucusgoers have made up their mind about who they are going to choose, a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll has shown.The Iowa caucuses, scheduled for February 3, will mark the first step of the Democratic Party primaries that will result in the party’s nomination for the November presidential elections.This round of primaries has seen a record number of presidential hopefuls.The poll interviewed 700 likely caucusgoers between January 2 and January 8.One fifth of the respondents said that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was their first choice. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was the second most popular choice at 17%, followed by South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 16% and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15%.However, according to the survey, the competition is still wide open, considering that 45% of those interviewed said that they could still been convinced to change their mind, while another 13% said that were still undecided.“Of paramount importance is beating Trump, of course,” Gary Mansheim, a family practice physician from Burlington, Iowa, told the New York Times at a Warren event in December.“Warren and Sanders speak to the Democratic heart, but the brain says you need someone that is more moderate to beat Trump. So that brings us back to the more moderates — Biden, Buttigieg and Klobuchar,” he added, showcasing what seems to be a common predicament among party members and officials: can the candidates from the left of the party that seems to raise so much enthusiasm among activists and young people rally support to beat the incumbent in the general election?According to another poll conducted by Monmouth University on Monday and quoted by the Times, 75% of those who are planning to support Biden or Buttigieg said that choosing a candidate that could defeat Trump represented a crucial factor in their preferences, as opposed to only 54 and 53% of the respondents who indicated Sanders and Warren as their first choice.The poll showed Biden leading the race with 25% of the respondents backing him, followed by Sanders (18%), Buttigieg (17%) and Warren (15%).“They’re worried about the country and they don’t want to make a mistake — they’re feeling the pressure,” Penny Rosfjord, a party activist who said she was still undecided, told the Times.
