Getty Poll: With Biden out, Clinton's lead in Iowa grows

Joe Biden’s decision to stay out of the presidential race is benefiting the two top-tier candidates in Iowa, but Hillary Clinton is getting the biggest bump, according to a poll taken before Biden bowed out of the race.

A new Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers out Thursday has 48 percent of Democrats supporting the former secretary of state and 41 percent backing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. When the vice president was included in the poll, Clinton received 42 percent and Sanders 37 percent.


Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has the support of just 2 percent of Democrats, while former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb — who exited the race this week — was at 1 percent, along with former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

The poll also looked at the congressional inquiries in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya — ahead of Clinton's marathon testimony before a House investigative panel Thursday.

Support for the investigations falls mostly on party lines, with 75 percent of Republicans saying they are worth the time and money, while 19 percent say it isn’t worth it. Democrats feel generally the opposite: 79 percent say it is not worth the resources, while 14 percent believe it is.

The poll by Selzer & Co. surveyed 402 likely Democratic and 401 likely Republican caucus-goers and was conducted Oct. 16-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.