schema:articleBody
| - Iowa's upcoming contest that kicks off the Democratic presidential nomination process remains up for grabs five days before the vote, with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders running neck-and-neck, a new poll showed Wednesday. Several surveys this month show Biden, Sanders, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Elizabeth Warren all in the top tier and within striking distance in the heartland state. But in a sign of the race's fluid nature as Democrats mull who could defeat President Donald Trump, Monmouth University Polling Institute's latest survey shows fully 45 percent of Iowa voters are open to switching their support on the night of the vote. Far-left Sanders surged into the Iowa lead this week over moderate Biden in the poll average compiled by website RealClearPolitics. But Monmouth's latest survey, one of the last before Monday's Iowa caucuses, shows Biden narrowly ahead with 23 percent support, followed by Sanders with 21 percent. Warren, who like Sanders also promotes liberal policies including universal health care and who led Monmouth's poll in November, was listed third with 16 percent. Buttigieg, running in the same centrist lane as Biden, was one point behind Warren. Pragmatist Senator Amy Klobuchar stood in fifth with 10 percent support, reported Monmouth, whose telephone poll of 544 likely Iowa caucus voters has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. Democratic contenders are making their final push in Iowa, where the outcome is seen as crucial for candidates chasing the party's nomination. Momentum coming out of the heartland state propels a candidate towards the next contests, while a poor showing often means a campaign's bitter end. In national polling Biden is the frontrunner over Sanders and then Warren. Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor, has climbed into fourth place nationally, but he entered the race late and is not on Iowa's ballot. Iowans vote in caucuses, local meetings with candidate pitches and debate before voters throw their support behind a candidate. The format makes Iowa difficult to model in polling, said Monmouth's polling institute director Patrick Murray. "The smartest takeaway from this, or any Iowa poll for that matter, is to be prepared for anything on Monday," he said. mlm/dw
|