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Support for abortion rights is non-negotiable for voters likely to participate in next year’s Democratic caucuses, a new Iowa Poll shows.

Seventy-nine percent of registered Iowa voters who plan to attend the 2020 caucuses in person say support for a woman’s right to abortion is a “must-have” from a candidate, according to the Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll.

Just 12% of Iowans who plan to caucus in person say support for abortion rights is “not a must-have” in choosing a candidate. Four percent would oppose a candidate who doesn't share their view on “a woman’s right to abortion,” and 4% are unsure.

The defense of abortion rights is the top must-have concern among nine common Democratic stances tested, including the ideas of banning assault-style weapons, offering free tuition to college or implementing a national health care system.

Poll participant Camille Juarez of Des Moines said she would not support a candidate unless the person champions the freedom to choose abortion.

“I just think it’s our right, as women. We should have control over our bodies,” said Juarez, 22, who works as a political organizer but hasn’t chosen a candidate for president. She is leaning toward supporting Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the caucuses.

The Iowa Poll sample of 600 Iowa registered voters includes two groups of people: 433 who plan to attend the Iowa Democratic caucuses in person, and 167 who plan to attend new virtual caucuses.

More of the latest Iowa Poll results and coverage:

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.7 percentage points for the in-person group and 7.6 percentage points for the virtual caucus group. The poll was conducted June 2-5 by Selzer & Co. The results for findings on must-haves were not meaningfully different among those who say they will participate in the virtual caucuses and the in-person caucuses.

The abortion rights findings come as the race’s frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden, has tried to fend off criticism on the subject. Last week, Biden’s campaign confirmed that he continued to support the “Hyde Amendment,” which is a longstanding ban on the use of federal money to pay for most abortions. Leading Democratic presidential candidates have vowed to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which critics say limits poor women’s right to choose abortions.

On Thursday, Biden changed his position, saying he no longer supported the ban.

Juarez wants a candidate with a consistent record of supporting abortion rights. “I think it’s important not to have someone who flip-flops,” she said.

Anti-abortion forces in Iowa and several other states have attempted to limit access to the procedure by passing so-called fetal heartbeat bills and similar measures. Juarez said those moves could backfire by energizing voters like her to demand Democratic candidates aggressively defend abortion rights.

President Donald Trump used to describe himself as “pro-choice” on abortion, but as president, has supported strict limits on the procedure.

The poll gauged how important a range of issues are to voters in trying to choose a Democratic candidate.

Climate change drew the second-highest level of interest, after abortion rights. Seventy-five percent of Iowa voters who plan to caucus in person say they must have a candidate who embraces a “recognition of climate change as the greatest threat to humanity.” Just 19% say such a stance is “not a must-have” in a candidate, 3% are unsure, and 4% would oppose a candidate with such a stance.

Poll participant Richard Brunner, of the unincorporated northern Iowa town of Toeterville, is among those who must have a Democratic presidential candidate who recognizes that climate change is the greatest threat.

America needs a president who will lead urgent action on the issue, he said. “If we take our time, pretty soon we’ll all be swimming,” Brunner said, noting recent severe floods and the potential for rising sea levels.

Brunner, 78, is a retired railroad worker who is leaning toward supporting Warren or Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the caucuses. He’s outraged by Trump’s contention that scientists’ climate change warnings are a hoax.

However, Brunner said he is unsure whether he needs a presidential candidate who supports the so-called “Green New Deal,” framed as an aggressive proposal to combat climate change. Most Democratic presidential candidates say they support the idea in principle, but several say its specific measures would need to be worked out.

The Iowa Poll shows that 32% of voters who plan to attend the Iowa caucuses in person “must have” a candidate who supports the Green New Deal. Forty-four percent say such a stance is not a “must-have,” 17% are unsure and 6% would oppose such a stance.

Besides defending abortion rights and recognizing the threat of climate change, the only other stance that is a “must-have” for a majority of Iowa Poll respondents who plan to caucus in person is support for restoring a federal ban on assault-style weapons. Fifty-seven percent of Iowa voters who plan to caucus in person say such a stance is a “must-have” for them. Thirty-one percent say it’s not, 4% are unsure and 8% would oppose a candidate with such a stance.

A ban on sales of certain assault-style rifles and pistols, plus large-capacity ammunition magazines, was passed by Congress and signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 1994. However, the federal ban allowed Americans to keep most such weapons if they’d already purchased them. The law expired in 2004.

About this poll

The Iowa Poll, conducted June 2-5, 2019, for The Des Moines Register, CNN and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 600 registered voters in Iowa who say they will definitely or probably participate in the 2020 Democratic caucuses. These 600 likely Democratic caucus participants were sorted into two discrete groups: 433 who say they plan to attend a caucus in person and 167 who say they plan to participate online or by telephone in a virtual caucus.

Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted 3,776 randomly selected active voters from the Iowa secretary of state’s voter registration list by telephone. The sample was supplemented with additional phone number lookups. Interviews were administered in English. Responses for all contacts were adjusted by age, sex, and congressional district to reflect their proportions among active voters in the list.

Questions based on the sample of 433 voters likely to attend the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses in person have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points. Questions based on the sample of 167 voters likely to participate in a virtual caucus have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 7.6 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 4.7 or 7.6 percentage points, respectively. Results based on smaller samples of respondents—such as by gender or age—have a larger margin of error.

Because the proposed rules for the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses at the time this poll was conducted include a provision that the results of the in-person caucuses will account for 90 percent of delegate equivalents and the results of the virtual caucuses will account for 10 percent of the delegate equivalents, the first-choice candidate results of this poll have been reported out in three ways: 1) among likely in-person caucus attenders alone; 2) among likely virtual caucus participants alone; and 3) combined in a calculation that gives 90% weight to the preferences of the in-person attenders and 10% weight to the preferences of virtual participants.

Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register, CNN, and Mediacom is prohibited.