Ohio Sen. JD Vance dismissed polling that shows Vice President Kamala Harris has taken the lead nationally and in key battleground states, arguing that the same polls were inaccurate in 2016 and 2020.
“The polls tend to radically overstate Democrats, we certainly saw that during the summer of 2020 and summer of 2016 and, of course, a lot of those polls were wrong when it came to Election Day,” Vance said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
The comments came after Fox News’ Shannon Bream told Vance about a recent New York Times poll that showed Harris ahead of former President Trump in Arizona and North Carolina at the same time as she has narrowed Trump’s lead “significantly” in Georgia and Nevada.
TRUMP RUNNING MATE VANCE AIMS TO TURN BLUE WALL STATES RED
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance speaks during a campaign event on July 30, 2024, in Henderson, Nevada. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
“What we have certainly seen is that Kamala Harris got a bit of a sugar high a couple of weeks ago, but what we’ve actually seen from our own internal data is that Kamala Harris has already leveled off,” Vance said. “If you talk to insiders in the Kamala Harris campaign, they’re very worried about where they are because the American people just don’t buy the idea that Kamala Harris, who has been vice president for three and a half years, is somehow going to tackle the inflation crisis in a way tomorrow that she hasn’t for the past 1,300 days.”
Confronted with an ABC News/Washington Post poll that showed Harris with a 4-5 point lead over Trump nationally, Vance argued that the same poll has been off during past elections.
“I think there are a lot of polls that actually show her stagnating and leveling off,” Vance said. “ABC/Washington Post was a wildly inaccurate polster in the summer of 2020.”
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Prime Osborn Convention Center on May 1, 2024, in Jacksonville, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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 grown that lead to 1.4 points.
The polling average also shows Harris with slim leads in the battlegrounds of Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan, while Trump holds slim leads in Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, is currently tied, the Real Clear Politics polling average shows.
Nevertheless, Vance argued that the Trump campaign cannot worry about polls and instead has to continue to work to get their message out.
Former President Trump pumps his fist after speaking during a campaign rally on Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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“If you see the numbers that we’re seeing, and you actually talk to the American people, I feel extremely confident we’re going to be in the right place come November,” Vance said. “We can’t worry about polls, we have to run through the finish line, and encourage everybody to get out there and vote.”