New poll shows anti-immigration firebrand Steve King up by just one point

A new poll released Tuesday shows anti-immigration firebrand Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) with just a 1-point lead over his Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten in the hotly-contested race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

Forty-five percent of respondents in the online poll said they would either vote for the Iowa Republican if the election were today, or have already voted for him early, according to the poll conducted by left-leaning polling firm Change Research from Oct. 27-29 with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Forty-four percent of respondents said the same for Scholten.

The Cook Political Report also moved the race for Iowa’s 4th district from “Likely Republican” to “Leaning Republican,” indicating the nonpartisan handicapper believes the race is tightening.

President Trump previously won Iowa’s 4th District by a 27-point margin in the 2016 presidential election. 

{mosads}However, the Change Research poll found that since Trump’s election, public opinion of the president has soured. The poll found 51 percent of likely Iowa voters surveyed had a favorable view of the president, while 46 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Trump.

The poll also found King underwater in terms of his approval rating, with 38 percent saying they viewed the Republican favorably and 48 percent answering that they viewed King unfavorably.

Scholten has raked in more than $1.4 million in contributions, more than has been raised by King. And the Sioux City Journal broke with King and endorsed Scholten, depriving the Republican of a key endorsement.