North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) said he would be "completely shocked" if Vice President Harris won Iowa on Tuesday, despite a dramatic new poll showing her leapfrogging former President Trump just days before the election.
A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey released on Saturday found Harris three points ahead of Trump, 47 percent to 44 percent, among Iowa's likely voters. In September, Trump led Harris by 4 points in the state he won in 2016 and 2020, by 9 points and 8 points, respectively. The result was just inside the survey's margin of error.
Another poll, from Emerson College Polling/RealClearDefense, released Saturday shows Trump leading Harris by 10 points, 53 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters in Iowa.
"Well, I think there's an Emerson that came out in Iowa that's got President Trump up plus ten. I guess we'll find out on Tuesday where that is," Burgum said in an interview on NBC News's "Meet the Press" when asked about the new Des Moines Register poll.
"But, you know, I was in Iowa the night that President Trump won 98 out of 99 counties when there were a lot of choices for other Republican candidates for them to vote for that night. I think his strength there is, you know, across the entire state."
Burgum said various factors go into any given poll, and he's still confident that Trump will win in Iowa, while it might be close.
“Polls vary a lot based on who you're sampling. You know, age, rural/urban, all of these things can matter. But I think again, if you take the average of those last two polls, I think Trump's still going to confidently win Iowa.
I'd be surprised, completely shocked if that comes anywhere close to being the fact in Iowa,” he added.
Burgum said he thinks the poll showing the two candidates tied nationally “is more accurate because I think that's the feeling that I get on the ground. It's a very tight race. It's going to be decided on Tuesday.”
