WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 09: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill presenting the No War Against Iran Act on Thursday, January 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. The No War Against Iran Act denies funding for unauthoriz … (Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has overtaken his rivals in Iowa, while Amy Klobuchar is in fifth place, according to a statewide poll released Friday.
The CNN/Des Moines Register Poll shows Sanders at 20 percent, with three other candidates within 5 percentage points. Elizabeth Warren is second at 17 percent, Pete Buttigieg is third at 16 percent, and Joe Biden is fourth with 15 percent.
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Sanders overtakes Democratic race in Iowa, Klobuchar fifth
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has overtaken his rivals in Iowa, while Amy Klobuchar is in fifth place, according to a statewide poll released Friday.
Klobuchar got 6 percent in the poll, unchanged from her position in November’s survey.
While she is focused on Iowa, the Minnesota senator is also turning her focus back to her home state’s primary. Her campaign has scheduled eight events around Minnesota to mark the start of early voting Jan. 17, and Klobuchar will appear at a rally at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis that night.
Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, and a musical guest “to be added later” will also appear at the rally, campaign manager Justin Buoen said.
“We’re not taking Minnesota for granted,” Buoen said in an interview at the campaign’s Minneapolis headquarters. “We’re investing the time and energy in the state, we’re doing the grassroots organizing that we need to do, and I think Amy’s going to come out on top.”
While Iowa has the first caucuses and New Hampshire the first primary, Minnesota will be the first state where every voter can cast ballots. However, they won’t be counted until the March 3 primary, a date known as “Super Tuesday” because more than a dozen states vote.
Ken Martin, the state DFL chairman, has said several campaigns were surprised to find out how early Minnesota’s no-excuses absentee voting began.
Klobuchar’s campaign said it was a home-state advantage.
Klobuchar has staked a significant amount of time and resources on Iowa, and a good result is key. Buoen declined to say Friday what the campaign’s expectation was for where Klobuchar would finish in Iowa.
“We’ll see. I think we need to continue to build,” he said. “The prognostication, I’ll leave to you guys to figure out. But I feel really a tremendous amount of momentum.”
Klobuchar is one of six candidates who qualified for Tuesday’s debate at Drake University in Des Moines, the final debate before the Feb. 3 caucuses. Tom Steyer was the final candidate to qualify this week.