US election: Iowa poll gives Harris surprise edge

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are making their final pitches to voters with less than two days to go before the election

Donald Trump easily won in Iowa in 2016 and 2020, but a new poll gives Kamala Harris the lead in the Republican-trending state. Follow DW's election digest.

A new poll of voters in Iowa has given Vice President Kamala Harris a surprise lead over former President Donald Trump.

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll has the Democratic candidate ahead by three percentage points — still within the margin of error — in a state the Republican won by a wide margin in 2016 and 2020.

Most polls show a tight race between the two presidential nominees, with the election's outcome likely to be decided in several battleground states.

With less than 48 hours until Election Day, Harris was heading to Michigan on Sunday, while Trump was expected in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments in the race to the White House on November 3, 2024:

Iowa poll gives Harris surprising lead over Trump

Kamala Harris has overtaken Donald Trump in a new poll in Iowa, a state the Republican presidential nominee won with a wide margin in the last two US elections.

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll put the Democrat three points ahead, leading Trump 47% to 44%.

Harris' lead is within the 3.4 percentage point margin of error, but marks a notable turnaround from a September Iowa Poll that gave Trump a four-point edge, the newspaper reported.

"The poll shows that women — particularly those who are older or who are politically independent — are driving the late shift toward Harris," the Register said.

Trump won Iowa, which has trended Republican in recent years, by more than 9 percentage points in 2016 and by 8 points in 2020.

The Trump campaign released a memo from its chief pollster calling the Des Moines Register poll "a clear outlier."

It said a weekend Emerson College poll, which gave Trump a 10-point lead, more closely reflected the Iowa electorate. That poll also has a 3.4 percentage point margin of error.

Whoever wins Iowa will get six Electoral College votes. A total of 270 are needed to win the White House.

How will the US election affect Berlin's relations with the White House?

Ahead of election day, Germany is watching with trepidation to see who Americans will choose for their next US president.

Though officials in Berlin have expressed a desire for productive relations with whomever is elected, a second Trump presidency could spell trouble for Germany.

Watch DW's full report here:

What to expect on Sunday

With less than 48 hours remaining before Election Day, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are prioritizing swing states this Sunday.

Harris is holding multiple events in Michigan, starting in Detroit, followed by a stop in Pontiac, and concluding with an evening rally at Michigan State University.

Trump is rallying with supporters in the key swing states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Saturday recap: Harris opens SNL, Trump predicts popular vote win

Kamala Harris urged her supporters to "keep calm-ala and carry on-ala," in a surprise on the "Saturday Night Live" TV comedy sketch show.

The Democratic presidential candidate made her debut on the show, which has featured other presidential candidates throughout its decades-long history.

Donald Trump last appeared on SNL in 2015, where he poked fun at his tendency to exaggerate and steer clear of policy specifics.

Earlier on Saturday, Harris' and Trump's planes shared the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the two candidates held dueling events in the southern battleground state.

The Republican candidate later headed to Virginia, where he predicted he would win not just the Electoral College count but a majority of votes cast across the country. "We're going to win the popular vote," Trump told the crowd. "I think we have a really good chance to win the popular vote."

Meanwhile, the Election Lab at the University of Florida reported that more than 75 million Americans had already cast ballots by Saturday, a sign of voter enthusiasm.

nm,dv/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)