In the latest sign Bill de Blasio is seriously considering running for president, voters in the key nominating state of Iowa say pollsters have asked them detailed specific questions about what they think of the New York City mayor and what the pollsters called his accomplishments.
It's been a few weeks since de Blasio was out in Iowa, but he seems quite interested in figuring out what voters there think of him. Democrats in Iowa went public on Twitter with stories of the phone calls they had received from pollsters asking questions about the mayor.
One of them, John Deeth, a Democratic Party activist in Iowa City, Iowa, spoke with me on the phone Wednesday about the nearly 30-minute conversation that he had with a pollster Tuesday night. He said the caller identified themselves as being affiliated with a research group of some kind. They then launched into a series of questions, many of which were centered on the mayor.
But the call did not go completely smoothly. Deeth told me the pollster had trouble pronouncing de Blasio's name.
"The caller butchered the mayor's name. I think he said 'Didliaso' or something like that," Deeth said in a phone interview. "One of the phrases that got used was 'Mayor de Blasio has experience standing up to Donald Trump.' And there were also comments about ability to get things done. There were also some descriptive biographical things about his family, specifically mentioning multiracial family."
"It seemed to me that they were testing messaging," Deeth added.
Deeth said he thought the calls to him and other Iowa Democrats he knows were targeting likely caucusgoers in the state, a select group of Democrats.
------
Looking for an easy way to learn about the issues affecting New York City?
Listen to our "Off Topic/On Politics" podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | RSS