The Daily Blast: MAGA Radio Host Humiliates Trump by Leaking Truly Brutal GOP Poll Data

The DSR Network

The episode explores recent alarming polling leaks from Iowa radio host Steve Deace, suggesting that previously safe Republican House distri

Key takeaways

• Radio host Steve Deace reported that GOP +15 districts are now within the margin of error.
• Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart attributes Republican vulnerability to Governor Kim Reynolds' unpopularity.

Main topics

• Iowa House polling leaks
• Impact of Iran war on politics

Notable quotes

If you are in a plus 15 district, you're within the margin of error.

Conclusion

The episode highlights a significant moment of political volatility in

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:10) This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network. I'm your host, Greg Sargent. A right-wing radio host in Iowa unleashed an extraordinary screed this week. He leaked internal polling data about the House races there and said districts Donald Trump carried by double digits are in serious peril. And he blamed Trump's war for just about all of it. This comes as Republicans are leaking fresh levels of midterm panic and new polling shows further deterioration for Trump and Republicans. But Iowa has special significance. If Dems can win here, it suggests there may be an opening to regain ground in rural America. We're lucky to be talking about all of this with Rita Hart, the Democratic Party chairwoman in Iowa. Chair, thanks for coming on. Speaker 1 (1:09) My great pleasure, Greg. Thank you. Speaker 3 (1:11) So Iowa radio host Steve Deese, who's pretty thoroughly MAGA now, dropped this bombshell on X. He said this, quote, Iowa House Republicans were informed by their own pollsters that if you are in a plus 15 district, you're within the margin of error. And if you're in a plus 10 district, you're underwater. Speaker 3 (1:32) Chair, if Trump or GOP plus 15 districts are within the margin and plus 10 districts are underwater, that means a double digit swing toward Democrats, maybe a 15 point swing toward Democrats in Iowa. And this is a place Trump carried by 14 points. Do you think that's where things are right now? Speaker 1 (1:51) I think it's quite remarkable that Steve thinks it's that dramatic. I would tell you that we have known for a long time, since last year when we were successful in running some special elections where we overperformed by over 20 points, that things were moving in our direction. And things have only become even more in our direction, especially when we look at the fact that we've been under rule by the Republicans for 10 years and under the direction of Kim Reynolds, who is, you know, the most unpopular governor in the country and has been for a while. You can look and see that people are paying more at the pump. They are paying more at the grocery store. They're there. aware and they're paying more for their health care. In some cases where their local hospitals have shut down, where their hospitals are no longer providing certain services that they've got to drive farther for and therefore, again, pay more money in increased costs. These are all things that have caused people to say, you know what, if I want things to change, which I desperately need them to change, then I'm going to have to vote for some Democrats and wake these Republicans up. Speaker 3 (3:16) Well, that is a remarkable turn of events. Let's talk about the Iowa districts that were in play here, that are in play here. There's Iowa's 1st District, which is represented by Republican Mary Ann Miller-Meeks. Trump won that district by 8.5 points. There's Iowa's 2nd, which is an open seat. Trump won that by 10 points. And then there's Iowa's 3rd, represented by Republican Zach Nunn. which Trump won by four points. Can you describe the demographic makeup of these districts? How rural are they? How working class are they? What's their makeup? Speaker 1 (3:50) Well, we'll start with the first district. You know, that's a district that I ran for Congress in, you know, back in 2020. And that is a, it is a rural district. I mean, there's, you know, Iowa City is the largest city in that district. But it is, it's quite a few counties along the Mississippi River. And it goes all the way to the Missouri border. It's a fairly rural district. The second district, we're talking, you know, again, a lot of rural counties along with the city of Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. So there's an urban-rural mix there. The largest city in the third district, of course, is Des Moines, which is very urban. And so that is probably the most urban of the four districts. But it also includes some rural counties as well in that third district. Speaker 3 (4:43) Well, let's go back to Steve Deese's eruption for a sec. What's critical is that he blamed Trump, particularly his war, for the brutal political situation Republicans are in. He talked about the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He actually compared this to the COVID lockdown and the bank bailout in terms of unpopularity. And those things were not popular in Iowa. Or