Democrats and even polling organizations have assumed enthusiasm for President Barack Obama’s candidacy in Iowa would match 2008’s level, but the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party admits that will not be the case this year.

Sue Dvorsky, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, when asked if Obama was replicating 2008’s voter enthusiasm in the state, said that was hardly the case.

“Nobody feels that,” Dvorsky said in an interview with Bloomberg News last week.

Democrats had a one-point advantage over Republicans at the polls in 2008, but by Dvorsky’s own admission, that won’t be replicated this year. In recent weeks, Republicans have also been closing the early voting and absentee ballot gap in the state.

And yet, polling outfits, such as Marist (D+4) continue to publish polls in which Democrats make up a greater share of the electorate than they did in 2008.