California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris needed another defining moment on the debate stage in Houston last week to boost her poll numbers, but it’s her Senate colleague Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar whose numbers in Iowa are headed up.
According to an Iowa poll by Harris’ chief pollster, David Binder, released by Focus on Rural America, Klobuchar has jumped ahead of Harris in the Hawkeye State, in fifth place behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders after the third presidential debate in Houston.
Since the end of 2018, Klobuchar and Harris have jumped back and forth with one another in this particular poll. Harris had 10% support in September, while Klobuchar did not chart. By December, Klobuchar had 10% support and Harris dropped to 7%.
Harris jumped ahead of Klobuchar again in March by 3 points and following the California Democrat’s strong debate performance in Miami, after excoriating former Vice President Joe Biden, she received 18% support from Iowans in the poll, leap frogging into third place.
Klobuchar, on the other hand, spiraled downward at the time to the low single digits before rebounding to her current 8%.
The Harris campaign huddled with donors in New York City two weeks ago to strategize the California Democrat’s next moves and donors warned they may need to shift their money to another candidate if she could not bring her poll numbers up, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Houston debate came and went without Harris being able to duplicate the push from her previous encounter with Biden on the stage.
The Harris campaign struggled over the summer to find its footing amid campaign missteps, like leaving a strategy memo at a restaurant.
Additionally, although Harris has the second most endorsements in the field following Biden, a poll from Emerson University shows her in fifth place, behind Andrew Yang, among voters in her home state of California.
A day after the Iowa poll’s release, the Harris campaign sent a fundraising plea to supporters that addressed her standing.
“When it comes to public polls, it’s important to remember where we are. In October 2003, John Kerry, who went on to win the Democratic nomination, was polling in fifth place, at around 8 percent,” The e-mail said.
It continued, “At this point in 2007, Barack Obama trailed both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards consistently in Iowa caucus polls — and Clinton led national polls by an average of 18 points. (She led the national polls by double digits until the week after Iowa!) In 2015, Clinton led Bernie Sanders by 21 points in Iowa. She ended up only winning by less than half of 1 percent.”
Klobuchar’s rising numbers in Iowa also reflect her new endorsement numbers in the state, though she still polls nationally at 1.5%, her Real Clear Politics average shows. According to her campaign, she garnered six new endorsements from former state legislators, bringing her total Iowa endorsement number to 24.
“Klobuchar has the support of more current and former legislators from Iowa than any other presidential candidate,” Klobuchar campaign press secretary Carlie Waibel announced in a tweet.
The Minnesota Democrat’s newfound campaign energy came after she initially went to the Houston debate immediately after one of her major endorsers, former Vice President Walter Mondale, said she needed a “prayer,” to get her campaign off the ground.
When she grabbed the attention of the TV debate audience after she reminded Sanders she read the “Medicare for all” bill he famously said he wrote at a previous debate, those prayers appeared to be answered.
Hoping to build on her popularity from the debate in Houston and the new poll numbers, Klobuchar launched the “Blue Wall” tour, a campaign journey focused exclusively on Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
