A new poll shows Donald Trump slightly ahead of Hillary Clinton in Iowa, which went for President Barack Obama by 5.6 points in 2012.
“It’s a toss-up right now, but Iowa could be the leading edge of a Midwest push for Trump,” said Patrick Murray, director at the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, based in N.J., which conducted the poll of 401 likely voters.
The result is promising for Trump, whose needs to win many states in the Midwest if he hopes to win in 2016.
The poll shows Trump at 44 percent support, while Clinton is at 42 percent, or 10 points below Obama’s 2012 score. But the poll has an error margin of plus or minus 4.9 percent.
That leaves 14 percent picking other choices. Six percent want to vote for libertarian Gary Johnson, and 6 percent are undecided.
Clinton has a huge lead among women — 54 percent to Trump’s 33 percent. In turn, Trump leads among men, by 56 percent to 29 percent.
Curiously, Trump is leading among voters aged 50 and below, 50 percent to 32 percent. But Clinton leads among older voters, 50 percent to 38 percent.
The poll also shows GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley 10 points ahead of his Democratic rival, at 52 percent to 42 percent.