A new poll in the conservative Great Plains state shows Vice President Kamala Harris closing in on former President Donald Trump.
And in an ironic twist, one of Trump's most prominent supporters is being blamed, according to a Des Moines Register/MediaCom poll of 656 people. Iowa Voter Prospects.
Harris is trailing her Republican opponent by just four points, 47% to 43%, a remarkable narrowing of the 18-point margin between Trump and Biden in June, especially considering that Republicans hold an advantage of more than 110,000 registered voters among the state's 1.46 million eligible voters.
But in a sign of how close the race is even where Republicans control state government, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has garnered 6% support, surpassing Mr. Trump’s lead and making the race look closer than it actually is.
Kennedy has tried to stay off the ballot in several states, but Iowa is not one of them, where he announced in August that he would run as the “We the People” candidate and remained so in September.
“We've been trying to get out of all the battleground states,” he said. News Nation But Iowa polls suggest they may have missed at least one potential battleground state.
Harris outperforms her own favorability ratings here, while RFK serves as a canvass for potential Trump supporters.
He is trailing in the election by four points, but his approval rating is 43% and his disapproval rating is 51%, giving him an eight-point lead.
The data suggests that Harris benefits from an energy that Trump lacks reach.
For example, only 74% of Trump supporters say they are very or extremely enthusiastic about voting in November, while 80% of Harris supporters make the same claim.
While only 84% of Trump supporters say they are made up, 89% of Harris supporters express a firm commitment to their candidate.
The gender gap seen in most states is replicated here: Trump leads men by 27 points (59% to 32%), while Harris leads women by 17 points (53% to 36%). Suburban womenThey lead 69% to 27%.
Trump faced little challenge in most primaries and caucuses this election season, except in Iowa, where Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis ran vigorous campaigns.
Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed DeSantis, leading Trump to accuse her of “disloyalty” ahead of the caucuses, but DeSantis ultimately endorsed Trump in March.
But the data suggests that Trump's problems in the poll have little to do with tense political times in the state: Trump leads among independents, 41% to 36%, and enjoys 94% approval among Republicans.
