Pete Buttigieg leaps 16 points — and into the lead — in latest Iowa poll


There's been another changing of the guard in Iowa.
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg took the lead for the first time in the latest Democratic primary poll out of Iowa. The Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll, released Saturday, showed the mayor surging to the top ahead of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden.
It doesn't look like a fluke, though there's been some fluctuation in Iowa throughout the primary's early going. Buttigieg took a relatively commanding lead over the field for the time being, receiving support from 25 percent of likely Iowa caucusgoers in the poll, a startling 16 point leap from his September standing. Warren, who was leading the September poll, fell by six points into second place at 16 percent, while Biden and Sanders were right behind her at 15 percent. Biden, the early frontrunner, fell another five percentage points, but Sanders picked up four.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The poll was conducted between Nov. 8-13, and 500 likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers were surveyed. The margin of error was 4.4 percentage points. Read more at Des Moines Register.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Mrs Warren's Profession: 'tour-de-force' from Imelda Staunton and daughter Bessie Carter
The Week Recommends Mother-daughter duo bring new life to George Bernard Shaw's morality play
-
The origins of the Taiwan Strait crisis
In Depth For over 75 years, the Republic and People’s Republic of China have confronted each other across the Taiwan Strait, a highly contested sea passage separating the two nations
-
How the Arctic became a geopolitical flashpoint
The Explainer The UK is working with Nato allies in the Arctic Circle to prepare for potential Russian aggression
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'