Clinton has strong lead among Iowa Democrats

Hillary Clinton leads her Democratic presidential challengers in the early caucus state of Iowa, according to the latest Suffolk University Poll released on Tuesday.

The former secretary of state claimed 54 percent of the vote among likely Democratic caucus-goers, followed by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at 20 percent, Vice President Joe Biden at 11 percent, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at 4 percent and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb at 1 percent. Other candidates received less than 1 percent, while 9 percent remained undecided.


Asked which candidate is the most honest and trustworthy, 32 percent opted for Sanders, while 29 percent went for Clinton. Pluralities of voters picked Clinton when asked to choose the candidate who best represents their values and best understands the issues they face.

But 52 percent still said the ongoing email scandal would hurt Clinton in the general election if she is the nominee, compared with 36 percent who said it would not. Seven in 10 Democrats said reports about the situation do not worry them, and 76 percent said they do not think Clinton broke the law, compared with 9 percent who said they thought she did.

The poll was conducted Aug. 20-24, surveying 500 likely Democratic caucus-goers via telephone, with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.