Undecided Iowans and 2013
Gabe posted about his recent experiences phone-banking for Chris Dodd. He called voters in Iowa and despite Dodd’s low standing in the current popularity contest polls received nary a negative response:
There were obviously some people who had already decided on another candidate (strangely, only Edwards, no Clinton or Obama), but even those people generally said that they were impressed with Dodd and his message.
The undecideds, to a person, said they were giving Dodd serious thought and had plans to go see him that weekend (we were calling for one event, but there were a number going on).
Driving this good feeling seemed to be the favorable press Dodd has received in recent weeks and his promise to have the troops out by 2013 (a pledge that none of the “top contenders” was prepared to make).
The 2013 thing is a no-brainer, really, but I expected that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would commit to ending the war by the end of a first term despite their feet-dragging on ending it from their seats in the Senate. Senator Dodd, however, has been leading on ending the war, and the fact that he’s willing to commit to its end before the end of his first term as President Dodd is not a surprise — it’s that he’s the only major contender to make the commitment that comes as a shock.
Matt Browner-Hamlin adds a little bit about the undecideds in Iowa in response to Gabe’s post:
Our field operation has made calls and talked to over 70,000 likely Democratic caucus goers in Iowa. At this point, about 80% of them are undecided as to who they will caucus for on election day (whenever that turns out to be). This stands in contrast to a recent Des Moines Register poll which showed 11% undecided caucus goers if the election
were held today. Invariably, the election is not going to be held today and as such, the polls aren’t presenting the same picture as when you talk to caucus goers and ask them who they stand with. Most just don’t know yet and likely won’t know for many weeks or months to come.
Iowans still have a lot of time left to make up their minds, and I have no doubt that they take their caucus decisions seriously. It’s really a tough choice to be faced with, but as the caucus date nears and Iowans begin to think about what’s important to them they’ll weigh the options and hopefully choose the man who is working right now to bring an end to the war: Chris Dodd.