Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is experiencing a “last-minute surge” in Iowa ahead of the state’s Monday caucuses, national pollsters are reporting.
Klobuchar is now polling at 10 percent in FiveThirtyEight’s Iowa polling average, and her chances of winning the most votes in Iowa have increased to three percent in the outlet’s primary forecast. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has the highest chance of winning the most votes in Iowa, but no candidate has more than a 37 percent chance.
The Minnesota senator was polling at six percent in Iowa in late January, but two new polls have increased her odds for Iowa’s caucuses.
A poll from Park Street Strategies has Klobuchar in fifth place with 12 percent while a poll from American Research Group places Klobuchar in third place with 16 percent—ahead of both Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
“But taken together with other Iowa polls that have dropped this week, we can’t dismiss the possibility that Klobuchar is having a last-minute rise that could put her in contention to finish better than fifth, where she’s been ranked in Iowa for a while now,” FiveThirtyEight said in its analysis. “And a higher-placed finish could have long-term ramifications if it keeps Klobuchar in the race well beyond Iowa and hurts someone else’s standing in the process.”
Average polling from RealClearPolitics now has Klobuchar at 9.6 percent in Iowa.
Klobuchar was on the ground in Iowa all weekend and started her Saturday morning off with a campaign event in Bettendorf. She then traveled to Sioux City, Cedar Falls, and Des Moines. According to a memo from her campaign, she has 120 staffers on the ground in the state ahead of Monday’s caucuses and has opened up 19 field offices throughout Iowa.
Her campaign said it was reaching out to 100,000 caucus-goers per week and has seen a 178 percent increase in “identified supporters in the month of January alone.”
New campaign memo from @amyklobuchar says she has 120 staffers on the ground in Iowa with 3 days till #IACaucus
120 staffers
19 offices
Reaching out to 100k caucus-goers per weekCampaign has seen a 178% increase in "identified supporters in the month of January alone."
— Musadiq Bidar (@Bidar411) January 31, 2020
She received the endorsement of the Iowa City Press-Citizen Friday and captured the endorsement of Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA-38), a prominent Hispanic lawmaker and Klobuchar’s first congressional endorsement outside of the Minnesota delegation.
Reporters on the ground are saying Klobuchar has been touting her electoral success in rural areas of her home state during her final push in Iowa.
.@amyklobuchar making her final pitch to the Sioux City crowd: “This is my deal. I have won every single race, every single place, every single time. … I am in touch and know what is going on in rural areas. I have won in (Bachmann’s) district. That is what we call receipts.”
— Shelby Fleig (@shelbyfleig) February 1, 2020
“This is my deal. I have won every single race, every single place, every single time,” she told a crowd in Sioux City. “I am in touch and know what is going on in rural areas.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “Amy Klobuchar Rally” by Amy Klobuchar.
