Sen. Elizabeth Warren is favored over Hillary Clinton in new 2016 election polls from Iowa and New Hampshire which were conducted on behalf of a group that is encouraging Warren to run for president.
The poll of 400 people show 31 percent of respondents support Warren in an Iowa Democratic primary or caucus, while only 26 percent support Clinton. In New Hampshire, Warren led 30 percent to 27 percent, reported the Washington Examiner.
The polls were conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Run Warren Run campaign and paid for by MoveOn.org.
The group said it hopes the poll results will encourage Warren to change her mind and get in the race. Warren has previously said she has no plans of challenging the hugely popular Clinton.
"The results show that, after likely caucus goers and primary voters learn about Elizabeth Warren's biography and issue positions, not only do a stunning 79 percent say they want her to run, but, in both states, Warren ends up leading all other potential Democratic candidates in a head-to-head ballot question," the poll analysis said.
Key findings from the poll are as follows:
• Virtually all likely primary voters and caucusgoers indicate support for a contested race, with 98 percent agreeing that a competitive primary is good for the party, candidates and voters.
• When they are informed about Warren's biography and issue positions, 79 percent of respondents say they would like her to run for president in 2016.
• After respondents hear about Warren's positions and biography, without any negative information provided about other candidates, Elizabeth Warren leads all other candidates for the nomination in both states, 31 percent to 24 percent over Hillary Clinton in Iowa (with other potential candidates further behind) and 30 percent to 27 percent in New Hampshire.
The Washington Post and National Journal have called the accuracy of the methodology into question. After all, a Bloomberg Politics poll released just earlier this month found that 56 percent of Democratic primary voters favored Clinton as their first pick, whereas just 15 percent favored Warren.
As the Washington Post pointed out, the poll was conducted as what is referred to as an "informed ballot," in which information about each candidate is shared before the head-to-head question is asked. This was disclosed up front by MoveOn, and the group emphasized that no negative information was shared about the other candidates.
But what MoveOn didn't emphasize was that the only candidate who had positive information shared was Warren. The poll includes 10 leading questions that "paint Warren in an exceedingly favorable light," according to the National Journal.
A statement regarding the methodology was mentioned on page six of the polling memo.
"We should note - this is not a so-called 'clean' head-to-head ballot question, as voters were provided positive information about Warren but not other potential candidates," the memo reads. "It should not be read as reflecting how Iowans or Granite Staters would vote if the caucuses or primary were held today. Rather, it should be read as an indicator that many voters in these states are 'movable,' open to supporting Elizabeth Warren when they learn about her and like what she has to say."
