Shock poll puts Harris ahead in Iowa as vice president urges Americans to ‘keep calm-ala’ in Saturday Night Live appearance

Kamala Harris has pulled ahead of Donald Trump in a poll in Iowa, a state Donald Trump easily won in 2016 and 2020.

The vice president has a three-point lead in the midwestern state, according to a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll of 808 likely voters.

“The poll shows that women – particularly those who are older or who are politically independent – are driving the late shift toward Harris,” the poll said.

US election latest: Biden says Trump is someone ‘you’d like to smack in the ass’

The poll shows Ms Harris leading Mr Trump 47% to 44%.

It has a 3.4 percentage point margin of error and follows another Iowa Poll in September that gave Mr Trump a four-point lead, the newspaper reported.

Taking Iowa would give the winner six Electoral College votes, with 270 needed to become president.

Both contenders for the US presidency have been concentrating on key battleground states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as they seek to pull ahead in a tight race for the White House.

Early voting is already under way ahead of the election on Tuesday.

Speaking in North Carolina, Mr Trump told a crowd in Gastonia: “If we win this state, we’re gonna win the whole ball game.”

“We have overcome every attack, every abuse and even two assassination attempts,” he added. “And now it all comes down to this.”

Read more:
University students handed cookies for voting early
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Road to inauguration will be rocky if US election result is contested

Trump predicts he will win popular vote

Speaking in Virginia, which is not considered a battleground state, Mr Trump predicted he would win not only the Electoral College count but also a majority of votes across the country – something he failed to do in the last two elections.

Meanwhile, Ms Harris headlined a star-studded event in the Old North State following musical performances from Jon Bon Jovi and Khalid.

Although she was interrupted by protesters she used the moment to emphasise her campaign’s theme of democracy, saying she would work as president to end Israel’s war in Gaza.

“It’s alright, y’all,” she said. “Democracy can be complicated. This is what democracy looks like.”

Harris urges Americans to ‘keep calm-ala’ in Saturday Night Live appearance

Ms Harris also appeared on the Saturday Night Live TV comedy show, appearing as herself in a mirror opposite the actor who portrays her on the show.

👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈

Dressed identically, they played on Ms Harris’ first name, saying Americans want to “end the drama-la” in politics “with a cool new stepmum-ala”.

“Keep calm-ala and carry on-ala,” they said in unison.