The first poll of Iowa Democrats has been conducted, and it shows Hillary Clinton firmly in the lead. Vice President Joe Biden's announcement that he was not interested in running for presidency is regarded as one of the reasons behind the lead.
The latest Monmouth University poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers showed Clinton leading by 41 points from her nearest rival.
"We now have a two-person race, but one of those competitors has just pulled very far ahead," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, in a statement. 65 percent of likely Iowa Democratic caucus-goers support Clinton, with Bernie Sanders garnering 24 percent of the support.
Clinton aides do not think that the survey is accurate.
"Let the record show, we don't just complain about public polls that are bad for us. These 2 Iowa polls are great for us and crazy wrong," tweeted Jennifer Palmieri, reports CNN.
The Monmouth poll is the first poll after Clinton's House Benghazi Committee appearance and also the first one since Biden officially announced that he would not seek the Democratic nomination. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, reports The Week.
Conducted Oct. 22-25, the poll surveyed 400 likely Iowa Democratic caucus participants via landlines and cellphones. Registered Democratic voters who participated in at least one of the last two state primary elections and are likely to attend the February caucus were surveyed in the poll, reports Politico.