New CBS News Iowa poll -- Sanders pulls within 5% of Clinton: Clinton 50%, Sanders 45%, O'Malley 4%

[CoffeeCat]

40. I'm In Iowa, and that's a good question...

It's a really good question, because it is likely that O'Malley will not meet the viability threshold in most precincts.

There are 1,700 precincts in Iowa. That collective 5 percent of O'Malley supporters has to go somewhere.

My guess is that O'Malley supporters--especially in Iowa--will go toward Sanders.

Iowa Democrats tend to be very progressive. Especially the caucus-goers, who tend to be pretty politically active and aware.

By initially supporting O'Malley--they have, in effect, rejected Clinton in a big way. Iowans know Hillary extremely well because of the 2008 primary. If an Iowa Democrat supports a candidate other than Hillary, they most likely do not like Hillary. They're likely to prefer a candidate that is to the left of Hillary.

Of course, this will not be true in every case. But it is my guess that most of O'Malley's supporters will go to Bernie.

Also, because O'Malley is polling at 5 percent, it's going to be tough to be viable anywhere. O'Malley may have pockets of supporters in certain precincts that may earn him delegates in select areas. But it's going to be challenging to reach the 15 percent viability threshold in a precinct--when you're polling around 5 percent statewide. Very tough.

The vast majority of O'Malley supporters will be joining another candidate camp or sitting out the caucus.