Today is the day. And every side is making their move.
And now the Trump campaign made a huge last minute announcement that could change everything.
With Election Day just days away, Donald Trump’s campaign is firing back against recent polling, calling out the media’s efforts to dampen enthusiasm among his supporters by pushing unfavorable numbers.
The latest Des Moines Register poll, released Saturday, shows a slight edge for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, with 47 percent of likely voters saying they would choose her if the election were held today, compared to 44 percent for Trump.
However, this falls within the poll’s margin of error of ±3.4 percent, keeping the race very much in play.
The survey, conducted by Selzer & Co., sampled 808 likely voters in Iowa who have either already voted or are committed to voting.
Meanwhile, the final Siena College/New York Times poll indicates a mixed picture across key battleground states, with Trump leading Harris in just one state.
Harris is reportedly ahead in Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Georgia, while the two candidates are tied in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Trump holds a lead in Arizona. The poll surveyed 7,878 likely voters across these seven states between October 24 and November 2, with a margin of error of ±3.5 points.
Notably, Harris seems to have gained momentum in Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina since the last round of polling from NYT/Siena, where Trump had previously held a slight lead.
However, Trump’s campaign is quick to dismiss these results, pointing out the tactics used to depress voter turnout among his base.
In a memo released Sunday, Trump’s campaign accused certain media outlets of using polling data to stifle excitement among his supporters.
“On Saturday, top Democrats appear to have received early access to an absurd outlier poll of Iowa conducted by the Des Moines Register. Not to be outdone, the New York Times arrived right on cue with another set of polling data being used to drive a voter suppression narrative against President Trump’s supporters. Some in the media are choosing to amplify a mad dash to dampen and diminish voter enthusiasm. It has not worked. Our voters are like President Trump: they fight,” the memo reads.
The campaign also took aim at The New York Times, claiming that its polls portray an electorate far to the left of reality.
“The New York Times is polling an electorate that looks far to the left of 2020, despite hard facts of voter registration and early voting indicate a current electorate that has shifted only to the right in every state,” the campaign said.
Ann Selzer, president of Pollster Selzer & Company, defended her methodology, which has accurately predicted Trump’s support in Iowa in previous elections.
“These are the kinds of comments seen for virtually any poll, including mine,” Selzer remarked. “It would not be in my best interest, or that of my clients—The Des Moines Register and Mediacom—to conjure fake numbers.”
Despite media narratives and selective polling, Trump’s support in Iowa has only grown since he first won the state in 2016, boosting his share from 51.15 percent in 2016 to 53.09 percent in 2020.
Iowa’s track record includes support for both Obama and George W. Bush, reflecting its status as a true swing state.
As the tight race heads into its final stretch, all eyes are on these swing states.
Both candidates are ramping up efforts to secure last-minute support, with recent 538 tracker data showing Harris with a narrow 1-point lead over Trump, 47.9 percent to 46.9 percent.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
