Election Day is 10 days away and a Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday shows Iowa voters are virtually evenly split between the two major party presidential candidates.
Peter Brown is assistant director of the poll. “The presidential race in the Hawkeye State is a dead heat,” Brown told Radio Iowa. The poll shows Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton each have the support of 44-percent of likely Iowa voters. Another 4 percent back Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, while one-percent support Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Brown says the dead heat is reflected in the poll’s internals. “Mr. Trump has a 51-35 percent lead among men, while Secretary Clinton’s lead among women — 52-37 percent — is virtually identical,” Brown said. Independent voters in Iowa are split, 40-40 percent, between Trump and Clinton, according to the poll.
By party, 88 percent of Republicans support Trump and 88 percent of Democrats back Clinton. A little over one month ago, another Quinnipiac poll had Trump leading Clinton in Iowa 44-37 percent.
The new poll includes Iowans who’ve already cast ballots. “And among that group, Secretary Clinton is doing very well. She has a 61 to 27 percent lead,” Brown said. “But, one should not mistake that for what the results will be. Certainly, the results will be very much closer.” Both Clinton and Trump will hold campaign rallies in Cedar Rapids Friday. Clinton will also visit Des Moines.
Quinnipiac University surveyed voters in three other swing states. Clinton and Trump are in a virtual tie in Georgia, while Clinton has widened her lead over Trump in North Carolina (47-43 percent) and Virginia (50-38 percent).