The NBC/WSJ poll of Iowa Democrats finds Hillary Clinton giving up more ground in the critical first state. Hillary is the choice of just one-third of Democrats, with 33 percent support. She edges socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders by just 5 points. Vice President Joe Biden — not yet a candidate — is third, with 22 percent support.
At the end of February, Hillary Clinton dominated Iowa. She had the support of two-thirds of Democrats, with Biden a distant second with 12 percent support. Socialist Sanders had just 7 percent support in the caucus state.
In just 8 months, Hillary has given up more than 30 points of support to Sanders and Biden. This collapse has come while she was the prohibitive favorite for the nomination and amassed a large campaign war chest and an enormous campaign organization.
With the inclusion of Biden in the poll, Clinton’s support bumps up to 47 percent while Sanders’ climbs to 36 percent. This 11-point edge is still modest, however, considering the millions in advertising Clinton has aired in Iowa. Since July, when the Democrat race heated-up, Iowa has swung 18 points towards Sanders.
Hillary’s current 11 points lead, with Biden out of the poll, is down considerably from her 29 point lead in July.
Late last week, socialist Sanders reported raising $26 million in the 3rd Quarter, almost as much as Clinton raised. Sanders now has more than 150 full-time staff in Iowa, operating out of 15 campaign offices. His field operations has grown just in the last month, suggesting he will likely make further progress eroding Hillary’s lead in the Hawkeye State.
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