The Steak Fry cheer-tracking made less sense when paired with the new Iowa Poll results for Buttigieg, who remained the fourth-most preferred candidate (behind Warren, Biden and Bernie Sanders), but whose share of first-choice selections dropped from 15 percent in the previous Iowa Poll to 9 percent in the newest survey.

How did a candidate whose Steak Fry reception was so remarkable actually slip ever so slightly in the poll?

That could be answered by a number of possibilities.

Perhaps there is a surge for Buttigieg that is in the works, but just did not yet show up in the Iowa Poll, which was in the field Sept. 14-18.

Or perhaps those loud cheers are more attributable to Buttigieg’s growing campaign operation than his support among the Democratic primary electorate. The Buttigieg campaign has significantly expanded its Iowa operation; perhaps that loud applause was a product of the campaign’s organization at the Steak Fry.