Poll: Iowa party likes Edwards
Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards is the top choice among Iowa Democrats likely to attend the 2008 presidential caucuses, according to a new poll.
U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., finished second, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was third.
Edwards, who has traveled to the state several times since the 2004 campaign when he was the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, won the support of 36 percent of those polled.
Clinton, who recently has made inquiries to political figures in the state, had 16 percent, while Obama came in at 13 percent.
Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack finished fourth at 9 percent.
Vilsack already has announced his candidacy. The others are considering it.
Edwards continues to show strength in Iowa, where he was the runner-up in the 2004 caucuses.
A Des Moines Register poll released in June also showed him leading.
Clinton came in second in that survey, with John Kerry third, and Vilsack in fourth place. Edwards’ lead over Clinton in Iowa widened between the two polls.
Jennifer Palmieri, an Edwards spokesperson, called the poll a “nice pre-Christmas gift” but noted the caucuses are more than a year away.
Obama’s third-place finish in this new poll is notable because it was conducted Oct. 12-19, a few days before he said he would seriously consider a presidential bid.
Obama had been the focus of speculation before then, but it has grown far more intense since.
Clinton and Obama tend to be the top Democrats in most nationwide presidential preference polls.
The new poll was conducted for Environmental Defense by Harstad Strategic Research Inc., a firm that has worked for Obama and Vilsack. The firm surveyed 602 Iowans who said they would “definitely” or “probably” attend the 2008 caucuses.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Keith Gaby, a spokesman for Environmental Defense, said it did not release the poll immediately because its primary purpose was to plan its strategy for the 2008 election cycle.
The organization noted that 69 percent of likely caucus-goers said they would be more apt to support a candidate who made cutting carbon pollution and global warming an important issue in their campaign. But it added large blocs of Iowa voters don’t know where the candidates stand on global warming.
Vilsack spokesman Jeff Link said it still is early in the election cycle and the governor’s numbers will go higher.
The poll was done before Vilsack announced his candidacy.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the party’s 2004 presidential nominee, was fifth with 6 percent. U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, who has said he will run, came in sixth with 5 percent.
Eight percent were undecided.
Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.
Poll results
John Edwards 36 percent
Hillary Clinton 16 percent
Barack Obama 13 percent
Tom Vilsack 9 percent
John Kerry 6 percent
Joe Biden 5 percent
Undecided 8 percent
Note: The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.