Sen. Bernie Sanders leads in New Hampshire, tied for lead with Biden, Buttigieg in Iowa, polls say

William Cummings | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Difference between caucus and primary, explained The 2020 election is nearing and with that, comes the caucuses and primary elections. But what’s the difference?

Sen. Bernie Sanders is in a three-way tie for first place in Iowa and has taken a narrow lead in New Hampshire, according to polls from CBS News and YouGov, as residents in those two states prepare to cast their votes next month in the race to determine which Democrat will take on President Donald Trump in November.

The Vermont independent has jockeyed for first place in polling in both states since the race began with former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

In Iowa, the first state to vote in the race with caucuses Feb. 3, Sanders has yet to finish alone at the top in any polls, but he has tied for the lead in three surveys and is at the top of the RealClearPolitics average for the state.

2020 candidates on the issues: A voter's guide to where they stand on health care, gun control and more

A CBS News poll released Sunday found Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg tied for first among registered Iowa Democrats at 23%. They are followed by Warren at 16%, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota at 7% and the rest of the field at 2% or less.

The results from Sunday's poll are very similar to CBS News' previous poll in the state, which was released in November. That poll found Sanders tied with Biden at 22%, while Buttigieg was just 1 percentage point behind them.

Sanders' performance has been more steady in New Hampshire, where he leads the field in RCP polling average. The new CBS News poll is at least the ninth to find him leading in the Granite State, which will vote a week after Iowa.

In that poll, 27% of registered New Hampshire Democrats say they would vote for Sanders, 25% say they plan to vote for Biden, 18% support Warren and 13% plan to vote for Buttigieg. Seven percent say they would vote for Klobuchar, 3% support Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and 3% back billionaire Tom Steyer.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who is not campaigning in Iowa or New Hampshire, was not included in the surveys, but 31% of Iowa Democrats say they would consider him, as do 27% of New Hampshire Democrats.

Though he leads in the state, 57% of New Hampshire Democrats say Sanders is "too progressive" for the general election, and 40% say he is "about right." In Biden's case, 57% say he is "about right," and 39% say he is "not progressive enough." Similarly, 61% say Buttigieg is "about right," and 33% say he is "not progressive enough." Forty-four percent of New Hampshire Democrats say Warren is too liberal, 11% say she isn't liberal enough and 45% say she is just right.

Those numbers are similar for all the candidates in Iowa, though 7% fewer Iowa Democrats say Sanders is too liberal and 8% fewer say Biden is not liberal enough.

Both polls were conducted from Dec. 27, 2019, to Jan. 3, 2020. The Iowa poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points and the New Hampshire poll's is 5.3 percentage points.