A Republican National Committee (RNC) spokeswoman on Monday likened Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) recent surge in the polls to President Trump’s own rise in 2016.
Liz Harrington said even though the two candidates represent very different policy ideals, both speak to a group of voters that have largely been ignored.
“You shouldn’t just brush off a side,” Harrington told Hill.TV. “That was what 2016 was largely about.”
“It was a dissatisfaction with Washington,” she added.
Harrington also argued that Republican Party already has an advantage going into November’s election, saying it is more united than the Democrats.
“The Republican Party today is so much more united than the Democrat Party is, and I think that’s going to be very beneficial going into November,” she said.
Her comments come as Iowa voters prepare to prepare to head to caucuses across the state Monday night.
Iowa is among the states that has chosen to hold a 2020 primary contest for Republicans. About a half a dozen states will not even hold GOP primaries this year, hurting former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld (R) and former Republican congressman Joe Walsh (Ill.), two long-short Trump challengers.
Harrington said that the Trump campaign has already launched 300 ground operations in 18 states across the country.
“We’re just continuing to fuel our operation, which we feel very confident about,” she told Hill.TV.
Sanders, meanwhile, is poised to go into the Iowa caucuses with the odds in his favor.
According to an Emerson College poll released Sunday night, the Vermont independent remains the top choice for Iowa Democrats, garnering 28 percent support. Former Vice President Joe Biden placed second with 21 percent support followed by former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 15 percent and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) at 14 percent.
—Tess Bonn
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