Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is leading the rest of the 2020 Democratic presidential field in Iowa, according to a University of Iowa poll finalized this week.
Ms. Warren was the top choice of about 23% of likely caucus-goers, the Hawkeye Poll said.
She was followed by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont at about 18%, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, at about 16%, and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden at about 15%.
No other candidate topped 4%. About 13% of respondents said they were undecided or refused to answer.
“While most potential caucus-goers are still evaluating a handful of candidates, Warren places at the top among respondents’ first and second choices,” said Frederick Boehmke, a political science professor and faculty advisor of the Hawkeye Poll. “She also does well among those still narrowing down their choices, and especially well among those very likely to attend the caucuses.”
Notably, 65% placed a greater emphasis on backing a candidate who supports similar policy preferences, compared to 30% who said it was more important to pick a candidate who can beat President Trump in 2020.
Much of the polling this cycle on the Democratic presidential primary contest has shown Democratic voters put a greater emphasis on “electability” than whether or not a candidate shares most of their policy preferences.
The survey of 465 likely Democratic caucus-goers was taken from Oct. 28 to Nov. 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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