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    • Trump Calls for ‘Suppression’ After Iowa Poll Makes Kamala Harris Win
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    Trump Calls for ‘Suppression’ After Iowa Poll Makes Kamala Harris Win

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    Former President Donald Trump has joined a chorus of Republicans criticizing the Des Moines Register The latest Iowa poll that trailed Democrat Kamala Harris by 3 percentage points.

    At a campaign rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Trump tried to discredit the poll results released Saturday night, calling them a “suppression.”

    “It’s called suppression. They suppress” Trump said. “And it should actually be illegal.”

    J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., the firm that conducts the Iowa poll, said in a statement Sunday that it is common for candidates to question unfavorable polls.

    “I think this poll has a good chance of getting Republicans to get out and vote,” Selzer said. “They may have thought they would win easily. So it’s hard to believe it’s suppression.”

    More: How is the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll going? We answer your most important questions.

    The Iowa poll showed Harris leading Trump 47 percent to 44 percent among likely Iowa voters — those who have already voted or who say they will “definitely” vote. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

    It was a surprising result in a state that Trump had previously carried twice. The poll set the internet ablaze Saturday night and provided Sunday talk show fodder as analysts picked apart the results and observers churned out memes on social media.

    About Social Truth On Sunday morning, Trump expressed his support for Iowa farmers and denigrated the poll as being conducted by “a Trump hater who totally got it wrong last time.”

    But the Iowa poll did a long history to accurately assess the state of the race in the weekend leading up to the general election, including the last two presidential races.

    In 2016 and 2020, the Iowa Poll was one of the few polls to note Trump’s unexpected strength on Election Day.

    In 2016, the Iowa poll showed Trump by 7 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton before he eventually won the state by 9 percentage points.

    And in 2020, he showed it leading Democrat Joe Biden by 7 points before winning state by 8 percentage points.

    More: How do past Iowa poll results compare to Iowa presidential election results?

    Earlier this year, polling in Iowa showed Trump leading Biden by 18 percentage points.

    However, the former president played down the results on Sunday. His team pointed to a separate survey conducted by Emerson College that it shows him driving in Iowa.

    “And we’re actually up in the polls,” Trump said at his rally in Pennsylvania. “But I think it’s a lot more than polls. You know the polls, I tell you, you can make those fools sing. Get the right survey you can – and do – actually cause damage. You know when you like this person from Iowa. Today, essentially, the election is really, we’re talking turkey, I’m coming out with a poll – unlike any other poll. Because it wasn’t even in question. It’s quite the opposite. I’m way up there.”

    Republican leaders in Iowa joined his dismissals, calling the Iowa poll an outlier.

    “Iowa Republicans are leading early voting for the first time in decades and have increased our voter registration lead by more than 130,000,” Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds he posted on Twitter Saturday evening. “President Trump will win Iowa if we vote and turn out our friends. Let’s prove the Des Moines Register wrong again!”

    The The final Iowa poll of the 2018 governor’s race showed Reynolds down by 2 percentage points over her Democratic challenger — a result that was also within the poll’s margin of error. She ended up winning by approx 3 percentage points.

    Iowa Democrats cheered the result while warning supporters to keep volunteering, door-knocking and getting out the vote.

    “The fact that Vice President Harris is now leading Donald Trump in the latest Des Moines Register poll is obviously very exciting to us,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Rita Hart said at a news conference Saturday night. “But I recognize that people here in Iowa are smart and know the difference between a poll and the results of an election. We have three days left before these elections. So remember, this is just a poll, and what really matters is Iowans showing up and making their voices heard.”

    House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said she was “pleasantly surprised but not shocked” by the results.

    She said the results match what she’s hearing on the ground from women across the political spectrum after the state-backed GOP-backed six-week abortion ban. it went into effect earlier this summer.

    “They’re sick and tired of politicians meddling in their doctor’s offices, and they’re looking for people up and down the ballot to really fight for their freedoms,” Konfrst said. “And this issue is prominent and real, and the fact that Vice President Harris all the way up to the Iowa House candidates are talking about these same rights and freedoms shows that this is what Iowans are looking for.”

    Election Day is Tuesday and polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

    More: Two days left until the 2024 election. How to vote early or on Election Day in Iowa

    Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief political reporter for the Des Moines Register. She also covers the 2024 presidential race for USA TODAY as a senior national campaign correspondent. Contact her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

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