Iowa Caucus Countdown

It’s day three of Joe Biden’s eight day “No Malarkey” Iowa bus tour.

And as he make stops in the northwest part of the state, aided by strong numbers in national polls that find him with double digit leads over all other Democrats, the former vice-president is still trying to recover from the latest key poll in the Hawkeye State.

Leading the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll is South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has just completed a run across Iowa that included stops in the western part of the state including a good-sized crowd in Council Bluffs.

"Friends, I believe you are going to make me the next President of the United States," Buttigieg told the audience at Abraham Lincoln High School. 

According to the Iowa Poll, Buttigieg has jumped 16 points, catapulting to the top with 25 percent of the vote.

That puts him nine points ahead of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren who is at 16 per cent, followed by Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders both with 15 per cent.

The good news for Biden is his continuing strong showing in national polls where he leads all Democrats by double-digits.

But this latest Iowa bus tour makes it clear his campaign knows a poor showing in the caucuses would likely wound Biden going forward.

In Omaha Joe Jordan News Channel Nebraska.