A new poll of likely voters shows Vice President Kamala Harris narrowing the gap with former President Donald Trump in her home state of Florida.
The USA TODAY/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV poll found the former president has 47 percent support, while the Democratic presidential nominee has 42 percent support in the Sunshine State.
But the poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percent, meaning Harris is “within striking distance” of the Republican presidential nominee less than three months before Election Day.
The new poll is the smallest gap between the former president and Harris in the state since she took over as the top contender for the Democratic presidential ticket when President Biden left the race in July.
New Florida poll shows Kamala Harris closing gap with President Donald Trump in her home state
Florida was once considered the most contested presidential state in the country, but it has been trending red in recent elections.
The last Democrat to win the state in a presidential election was former President Obama in 2012. Trump won the state in 2016 and in 2020 when he beat President Biden by more than three points despite losing the election.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis crushed his Democratic opponent in the 2022 gubernatorial race there with a 19-point victory, and Republicans also hold a massive lead in Florida when it comes to registered voters with more than a million more than Democrats ahead of the November election.
While the GOP still holds a sizable lead in the state, Harris is closing the gap thanks in part to a significant surge in enthusiasm since taking the top spot on the ticket.
The USA TODAY/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV poll of likely Florida voters found Harris now ties Trump when it comes to enthusiasm for their party’s nominee. Eighty-nine percent of each group say they are very or somewhat excited to vote for their candidate this fall.
For Democrats, this marks a huge shift from when Biden was at the top of the ticket. In June, only 60 percent of supporters nationwide were enthusiastic about voting for the incumbent president.
The vice president also has an edge over Biden in favorability in the state. Forty-four percent of voters say they have a favorable view of her, while only 39 percent said the same of Biden.
However, Harris still trails Trump in terms of favorability in the state where 50 percent of voters view him favorably.
Even before Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign argued that Florida was up for grabs for the president, especially with abortion rights front and center in the state with the six-week abortion ban that went into effect earlier this year and a ballot measure.
While Harris has traveled to the state as vice president, she has yet to visit again as a Democratic presidential candidate; instead, she has so far been campaigning in must-win battleground states.
In May, Harris visited Florida to celebrate the six-week abortion ban coming into effect. Her campaign continues to make abortion access a key issue on the campaign trail, which could help Democrats, as it has been a hot topic in recent elections.
However, abortion rights did not have the same impact in the 2022 midterm elections in Florida as it did in other places, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, after Roe v Wade was overturned.
Trump, meanwhile, has held multiple campaign events, including rallies in Florida, as he seeks a second term in the White House.
