By all accounts Donald Trump is leading by a considerable margin in the Republican presidential primaries with only a few weeks left until the Iowa caucuses.
However, Bob Vander Platts, the most influential Iowa evangelical, believes that many grassroots conservatives are experiencing “Trump fatigue,” and that a large number of caucus-goers who support other candidates, such as Ron DeSantis, are being underestimated.
Vander Platt's expressed his disbelief in the polls, as The Hill reports:
“I don't believe them, and there's a reason I don't believe them – because it does not match up at all to what I'm hearing on the ground,” Vander Plaats told The Washington Post on Thursday.
He said he is a big fan of Ann Selzer, an Iowa political pollster, but said she has gotten it wrong in the past.
Vander Plaats's interview came more than a month after he endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who continues to trail the former president in both state and national polls.
According to Decision Desk HQ, which has recently partnered with The Hill, the latest polling shows DeSantis earning 17 percent support among Iowa voters, while Trump is in the lead with 54 percent.
Despite Trump's dominance in the polls and media coverage, DeSantis has received endorsements from prominent Iowa Republicans, including Gov. Kim Reynolds and talk show host Steve Deace.
Meanwhile, Nikki Haley, who is vying for second place in the polls alongside DeSantis, has received endorsements from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and the Koch borthers' super PAC, Americans for Prosperity Action.
According to the most recent RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump leads Biden in a hypothetical match-up by 3.2 percentage points. Meanwhile, DeSantis narrowly edges out Biden by 0.9 percentage points, while Haley enjoys a 5.8-point lead over the incumbent president.
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