An Iowa poll released the Saturday before Election Day caused shockwaves when it showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump, but the former president easily won the state on Tuesday.
The Des Moines Register-Mediacom Iowa Poll released this past weekend showed Harris leading Trump 47%-44%. However, Trump prevailed over Harris on Tuesday night 55.6%-43.0%, with 81% of the vote counted.
The race was called by the Associated Press at 10:40 p.m. Eastern, less than two hours after the polls closed in the Hawkeye State.
Pollster J. Ann Selzer had said on Saturday that it was “hard for anybody to say they saw this coming” and claimed that Harris had “clearly leaped into a leading position.”
The Trump campaign at the time had pointed to an Emerson College poll that had the former president leading the vice president by roughly 10%. The Emerson poll appears to be a closer representation of Tuesday’s results.
After Trump’s projected victory in Iowa, Trump campaign deputy political director Alex Latcham issued a statement celebrating the win and taking a job at the pollster.
“Congratulations to Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance on their victory. After four years under Kamala Harris, Hawkeye state voters are eager for President Trump to fix what Kamala Harris broke,” Latcham said.
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“Starting on Day 1, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance will help to ease costs, secure the border, and protect Social Security for retirees like Ann Selzer,” he added.
Trump won Iowa in 2016 and 2020, and the state was rated as “likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report heading into the Tuesday election.