Ohio Sen. JD Vance dismissed polls showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading both nationally and in key battleground states, arguing that similar polls were inaccurate in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
“The polls tend to drastically overstate Democrats, as we saw during the summers of 2020 and 2016. Many of those polls were proven wrong on Election Day,” Vance said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
These comments followed Fox News’ Shannon Bream informing Vance about a recent New York Times poll showing Harris ahead of former President Trump in Arizona and North Carolina, while also significantly narrowing Trump’s lead in Georgia and Nevada.
“What we’ve observed is that Kamala Harris experienced a temporary boost a couple of weeks ago, but our internal data indicates that her momentum has already plateaued,” Vance added. “Even insiders within the Harris campaign are concerned because the American public isn’t convinced that Kamala Harris, who has been vice president for over three and a half years, can suddenly address the inflation crisis in a way she hasn’t for the past 1,300 days.”
When confronted with an ABC News/Washington Post poll showing Harris leading Trump nationally by 4-5 points, Vance pointed out that the same poll had been off in previous elections.
“I believe many polls actually show her stagnating and leveling off,” Vance said. “ABC/Washington Post was an extremely inaccurate pollster in the summer of 2020.”
According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Harris took the national lead over Trump for the first time on Aug. 5 and has since expanded that lead to 1.4 points. The average also shows Harris with narrow leads in Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan, while Trump holds slight leads in Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia. Pennsylvania is currently tied, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
Despite this, Vance stressed that the Trump campaign cannot focus on polls and must continue working to spread their message.
“If you look at the numbers we’re seeing and actually talk to the American people, I’m very confident we’ll be in the right position come November,” Vance said. “We can’t worry about polls; we have to push through to the finish line and encourage everyone to get out and vote.”
