Vice-President Kamala Harris is closing the gap on Donald Trump in Iowa, a state that was previously thought to be safely in the former president’s column.
Trump won Iowa twice—in 2016 and 2020—by more than 8 points in each election. The Cook Political Report currently rates the presidential race in Iowa as “solidly” Republican.
A previous poll out of the state in June showed the former president trouncing President Joe Biden by 18 points, even though the current president was Barack Obama’s running mate when he carried the state in 2008 and 2012.
The new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll published Sunday shows Harris making up significant ground on Trump.
The poll shows that Trump leads Vice President Harris by just 4 points, 47% to 43%, a 14-point swing towards the Democratic nominee since she replaced Biden at the top of the ticket.
Former candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, received 6 percent support in the latest poll, down from 9 percent in June. Kennedy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump but his name will still appear on the ballot in Iowa.
One percent of respondents each say they will vote for Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, someone else and are unsure about who they will support.
“I wouldn’t say 4 points is comfortable” for Trump, pollster J. Ann Selzer told the Des Moines Register. “The race has tightened significantly.”
Selzer said the new poll “signal a change in the mood of the electorate” in Iowa.
The poll shows that overall, Iowans are more enthusiastic to vote in the election. 81 percent of Iowans say they will definitely vote in the election, up from 76 percent in June.
Harris voters are slightly more enthusiastic to support the nominee than Trump voters, the poll finds.
80 percent of likely voters for Harris say they are either extremely (34%) or very (46%) enthusiastic, while 73 percent of likely voters for Trump say they are extremely (33%) or very (40%) enthusiastic.
The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll, was conducted from Sept. 8-11 by Selzer & Co. and surveyed 811 Iowans. It has a margin of error of ±3.8 percentage points for questions asked of 656 likely voters.
