One of Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s top campaign advisors called publicly available polling ‘horses***’ just as her race with Donald Trump tightens.
David Plouffe, a senior advisor to the Harris-Walz campaign and a former Barack Obama advisor, was adamant while speaking on the ‘God Save America’ podcast that the presidential race is closer than some surveys show.
‘I can’t speak to the public polls. I spend very little time looking at them… most of them are horses***,’ the strategist admitted.
‘Some of them may be close but generally, I’d say any poll that shows Kamala Harris up four to five points in one of these seven states, ignore it,’ he said referencing the critical battleground states.
‘Any point that shows Donald Trump up like that – ignore it.’
Former Barack Obama campaign manager and senior advisor David Plouffe (pictured) said that public polls showing a large gap between Harris and Trump are ‘horses***’
A Morning Consult survey from the first week of October found Kamala Harris to be five points ahead of Trump.
Similarly, a Reuters/Ipsos poll from the last week of September found support for the Democratic candidate at a six-point advantage.
The RealClearPolitics national polling average currently shows that Harris holds just a 1.7-point edge over the 45th president.
The podcast, hosted by an array of former Obama staffers, features analysis and reaction from a veritable cast of pundits and politicians on the left, offering them a candid platform to talk party politics and — evidently — vent.
‘This thing’s very close; it’s a margin of race, but again, I’d rather be us than him because I think we have the ability to get to 49 and a half or 50,’ Plouffe said to host Dan Pfieffer, another former Obama staffer.
‘I’m much more confident about that than Donald Trump, but it’s going to be close all the way in, so I think we’re doing what we can to to be conservative in the data.’
President Barack Obama, accompanied by adviser Anita Dunn, right, and senior White House adviser David Plouffe in 2012
S President Barack Obama greets senior advisor and former campaign manager David Plouffe (L) during a Democratic National Committee (DNC) event in Washington, DC, March 16, 2011
Former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfieffer (pictured) hosts the show ‘Pod Save America’
‘This thing’s very close. It’s a margin-of-error race,’ Plouffe added.
The Democratic strategist and Harris-Walz campaign advisor shared that internal data also shows a close race.
And that there is a particular portion of Republican voters that may back Kamala this year.
‘I think Kamala Harris may surprise at the end of the day with either straight-up Republicans or independents who are essentially Republicans, Plouffe said.
‘We’re seeing a continued strength there, and that matters a great deal, given how big those cohorts are.’
‘But listen: I think it may be that our internal data is exactly right. But if I were to hazard a guess, I think it may be undercounting her strength amongst Republican-leaning independents. So, we won’t put that in the bank, but let’s hope that’s right,’ he later added.
Plouffe said that Trump’s campaign is doing a good job in some regards
Trump’s ‘big challenge’, Plouffe said, is that he is too reliant on finding new voters.
Still, he admitted: ‘As we look at the race, we give him credit for doing a good job there.’
