Iowa poll: Biden and Sanders tied, with Buttigieg in close third

A new 2020 Democratic presidential caucus poll of Iowa voters found Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tied for first place with former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to formally declare his candidacy. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) came in close behind the two well-known Democrats. 

Sanders and Biden both stood at 19 percent in the poll from nonpartisan research firm Gravis Marketing, which was conducted April 17-18 and released Monday.

Buttigieg came in third place among Democratic candidates with 14 percent, but was outflanked by voters who said they were “uncertain,” at 16 percent. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) both polled at 6 percent.

{mosads}A majority of respondents — 57 percent — were 50 or older, and 58 percent were women. A majority also described themselves as either somewhat liberal (38 percent) or very liberal (25 percent).

The Gravis poll is the latest to show a surge in popularity for Buttigieg, who entered a crowded field with little name recognition. The 37-year-old mayor raised more than $7 million in the first quarter of 2019 and was also in third place in a national poll released April 15, which showed he would be the second choice of 17 percent of Biden voters should the former vice president decide not to run.

Last week, Buttigieg told CNN his insurgent campaign has “outlived the flavor of the month period” and next intends to focus on “the sometimes unglamorous work of building out those early state organizations, building the fundraising, doing the grass-roots volunteer organizing that will power us all the way through into next year.”

The poll surveyed 590 adults and has a 4-point margin of error, according to Gravis.