Over the weekend the tradition of the Des Moines Register poll being released just before the Iowa caucuses came to a halt when pollsters were accused of improper questioning.
The widely anticipated Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers was scrapped shortly before it was set to be released Saturday night after complaints from Pete Buttigieg's campaign about how it was conducted.
The stunning announcement by the media sponsors and West Des Moines-based pollster Selzer & Co. means the results of the historically accurate survey won't be released before Monday caucuses. The decision left the campaign and political media universe, which has descended on Des Moines, dumbfounded.
But FiveThirtyEight got their hands on the results and it shows "electable" Joe Biden doing...poorly. As noted above, the results are historically accurate.
We can confirm the final results of the unreleased Iowa Poll:
— Clare Malone (@ClareMalone) February 4, 2020
Sanders 22%
Warren 18%
Buttigieg 16%
Biden 13%
https://t.co/deTryUiHgt
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That being said, caucuses are notoriously difficult to poll. This is especially true in a crowded primary with a significant percentage of undecided voters. But...voting is underway and this is the scene.
Widespread reports of Joe Biden barely/not viable in types of precincts he should be to have any type of chance. Having a hard time seeing him in top three...long way to go.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) February 4, 2020
Biden's team has been downplaying expectations of a win in Iowa for months, arguing the race will really start in South Carolina, where Biden has solid support.
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