USA - Young U.S. Mayor Pete Buttigieg has climbed to the top of the Democratic primary in the key state of Iowa, threatening former Vice President Joe Biden who also faces the worrying prospect of the billionaire's entry into the running Michael Bloomberg in the race for the White House.
The fight is tough to take, or keep, his place in the front pack with about 20 candidates left for the Democratic nomination, all eager to challenge Republican Donald Trump in November 2020.
Nationally, Barack Obama's former vice president, Joe Biden, remains in the lead, but his advantage has narrowed. And at this stage of the campaign, all eyes are on the first states to hold primaries in 2020 because they can influence the rest of the race.
Buttigieg's ascent to a key state
But in Iowa, the first to vote on February 3, moderate Pete Buttigieg, 37, overtook heavyweights in a poll released Tuesday, November 12. This is the first time he has come out on top in a state.
The mayor registers 22% of voting intentions in Iowa, according to this monmouth University Institute poll, ahead of Joe Biden (19%), progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren (18%) and independent Senator Bernie Sanders (13%). The margin of error is significant, at 4.6 points, but this new poll confirms pete Buttigieg's rise in Iowa over the past several weeks.
Still unknown to the general public a year ago, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has since made a name for himself by posing as a moderate capable of bringing America together to defeat Donald Trump.
Former military, polyglot and utra-graduate Pete Buttigieg recently told AFP he was "as different from this president as it is possible to be."
Married since 2018 to a teacher, Chasten, he is the first gay candidate with real chances in the race for the White House.
Donald Trump's rivals
Of the 17 candidates still vying for the Democratic nomination, Joe Biden remains the national favorite but is losing momentum (26.8%), followed by Elizabeth Warren (20.8%), Bernie Sanders (17%), with Pete Buttigieg (7.5%).
A newcomer could upset the race: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took another step toward a White House bid on Tuesday.
Donald Trump's 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton, said Tuesday that "never say never" in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live. "I am under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it," she added, referring to a possible candidacy. "But at the moment, sitting in this studio talking to you, it's absolutely not in my plans," the former secretary of state added.
Michael Bloomberg had already applied Friday in Alabama, among the first states to close the list of candidates. Arkansas and Alabama will hold their primaries on "Super Tuesday," with another dozen states on March 3.
These nominations "don't mean we're going to run, but if we do we have to make sure we're part of the ballot," he told local media on Tuesday, adding that the moment he made his final decision was "getting closer."