IOWA OBSERVATIONS

By Ron Faucheux

• Last night’s debacle, if nothing else, will bend the nomination arc more toward an open convention.
• It appears Iowa’s caucus turnout was less than spectacular, closer to 2016 than 2008. That’s a disappointment for Democrats. The race was unsettled until the end. There was a strange sense that many Iowa Democrats were not yet ready to vote.
• The muddle helps Bloomberg. He was smart staying out of Iowa––and lucky.
• Klobuchar was smart to fill dead air last night with a speech. Others followed.
• Buttigieg gave the best speech. Biden gave the worst.
• Because we have no results, we can’t say the polls were wrong. We have to wait to reach any conclusions.
• If anybody asks: Klobuchar is the current frontrunner for the VP nomination.
• The real winner last night was Donald Trump. Democrats were forced into chaos management.
• In yesterday’s Lunchtime Politics, we posed the question, “Has the Iowa caucus system become too clunky for its own good?” The answer is painfully obvious today. Yes, the Iowa caucus system needs to be scrapped. Moreover, the Iowa Democratic Party has lost its right to be first in the nation.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Among Democratic primary voters statewide

% = Boston Globe / WHDH / WCVB = Average
Bernie Sanders: 24%/32%/25% = 27
Joe Biden: 18%/13%/20% = 17
Elizabeth Warren: 13%/13%/17% = 14.3
Pete Buttigieg: 11%/12%/12% = 11.7
Amy Klobuchar: 6%/12%/5% = 7.7
Tulsi Gabbard: 5%/4%/5% = 4.7
Tom Steyer: 4%/5%/5% = 4.7
Andrew Yang: 3%/5%/4% = 4
Candidates with 1% or less not listed

RON’S COMMENT: Three new polls from New Hampshire, all taken before Iowa. Our polling average today shows Sanders slightly down from yesterday’s average (-0.7), Biden is down more (-3), Warren is down (-1.7) and Buttigieg is doing a little better (+0.7).

NATIONAL: DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Among Democratic primary voters nationwide

Joe Biden: 28%
Bernie Sanders: 24%
Elizabeth Warren: 14%
Michael Bloomberg: 14 %
Pete Buttigieg: 6%
Andrew Yang: 4%
Tom Steyer: 3%
Amy Klobuchar: 3%
Tulsi Gabbard: 2%
Candidates with 1% or less not listed

RON’S COMMENT: Three things to note about this national poll: First, it was completed before the Iowa caucus. Second, it’s the lowest vote percentage Biden has ever received in a Morning Consult national poll. Third, it has Bloomberg tying Warren for third place…. This poll also finds that:

• If Biden was not in the race, 27% of his vote would go to Sanders and 21% would go to Bloomberg.
• If Warren was not in the race, 35% of her vote would go to Sanders and 22% would go to Biden.
• If Buttigieg was not in the race, 21% of his vote would go to Biden and 19% would go to Warren.
• If Sanders was not in the race, 29% of his vote would go to Warren and 27% would go to Biden.
• Bloomberg takes more votes from Biden (36%) than any other candidate (Sanders 14%, Warren 14%, Buttigieg 10%).

TUESDAY TRIVIA

Who was the only non-incumbent president to win the Iowa caucus twice?

(See answer below)