Trump up 7 points in Iowa poll as swing states warn results will be delayed for days

Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer said the volumes of votes coming in something they have never seen before

US president Donald Trump, ahead in latest Iowa poll (AFP via Getty Images)

A new poll has shown that Donald Trump is up by seven points against his opponent Joe Biden in a key state, Iowa, even as other swing states have warned that election results will be delayed for days.

Mr Biden is leading the president in national polls, but the numbers in Iowa are similar to those seen in 2016 when Mr Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the state by just over nine points.

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll was conducted by Selzer & Co in the last week of October and released on Saturday, showing Mr Trump leading with 48 per cent to 41 per cent for Mr Biden. In September, similar polls showed the candidates tied at 47 per cent.

Iowa has been a key target for both parties. Last week, Mr Biden was part of a drive-in rally in Des Moines while the president appeared at a rally in Dubuque on Sunday, two days before the election on 3 November. Mr Trump boasted of his polls lead during the rally.

J Ann Selzer, president of the eponymous polling company, told the Des Moines Register that the president is holding demographic groups that he won in Iowa four years ago but added that if neither candidate hits 50 per cent there’s still some “play”.  

The poll comes at a time when many voters in Iowa and other swing states have already voted, with reports suggesting a dramatic surge in early and mail-in voting. Officials in those states have said that results might be delayed as they will be carefully counting these votes.

Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona are considered the key swing states which can impact the results of the election even if a candidate wins the popular vote – as happened in 2016, when Ms Clinton won more votes nationwide but lost out on the presidency.

Michigan’s governor Gretchen Whitmer has said that they are trying to “make sure everyone in the press understands the volume of votes that are coming in is like nothing [they have] ever seen before and it is going to take time to count”.

“And it is more important that we have a count that is inaccurate than a count that is fast and might not be accurate. We will continue to keep you posted. We will be very transparent and give you regular updates. We want to get this count right,” said Ms Whitmer, who belong to the Democratic Party.

Last month, the FBI announced that six people were charged over an alleged plot to kidnap Ms Whitmer, which involved links to a right-wing militia group.