Three Dems battle for IA lead
desmoinesregister.com
A new poll of Iowa Democratic caucusgoers shows a tight, three-way battle for the lead at this stage of the presidential race.
Barack Obama held a one-point lead over Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, who were tied for second place, according to a poll released today.
Obama, an Illinois senator, received 27 percent, followed by New York senator Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 26 percent each.
The Washington Post-ABC News poll of 500 likely voters was taken by phone between July 26 and July 31. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The poll is significant in that it shows Obama taking the lead in Iowa for the first time, albeit very narrowly. Other recent surveys have shown him behind both Clinton and Edwards.
“The horse race numbers will go up and down, but what’s clear is that people are looking for new ideas and an alternative to the Washington conventional wisdom,” said Tommy Vietor, Obama’s Iowa press secretary.
In another poll released earlier this week by the American Research Group, Clinton had the Democratic lead with 30 percent, followed by Edwards with 21 and Obama with 15 percent. A KCCI Channel 8 poll taken July 23 to July 25 showed Edwards in the lead with 27 percent, Clinton in second with 22 and Obama with 16.
“At this point, it is just so early and a lot of folks are probably not sure and it may vary from week to week,” said Tim Hagle, an associate professor of political science for the University of Iowa. “…That’s not to say that the polls are not at all valuable because, at least from the candidates perspective, they need to know” what messages are resonating with voters.
The poll showed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson with 11 percent; Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio with 2 percent each and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd with 1 percent. |
