Vice President Kamala Harris now leads former President Donald Trump in three key states, according to a new poll.
New findings from The New York Timessuggest Harris now leads Trump by four points in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Among likely voters in each state, 50 percent said they would likely vote for Harris, while 46 percent said they would vote for Trump.
According to the new figures, Harris has erased the lead Trump was building in states before President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the race.
Despite the apparent lead over Trump, the poll shows vulnerabilities for Harris, as voters prefer Trump when it comes to the economy and immigration, two central issues in the race for the White House.
New findings from The New York Times suggest Harris now leads Trump by four points in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Despite the apparent lead over Trump, the poll shows vulnerabilities for Harris, as voters prefer Trump when it comes to the economy and immigration.
Harris is now in a stronger position than Biden was in May among most demographic groups, including white voters without a college degree.
The poll showed he was now doing better with Black and younger voters, sectors of the electorate that had begun to erode under Biden, as well as retaining older voters.
On the economy, Harris is nine points behind Trump on the one issue where she has held the advantage.
Harris has a 24-point lead on abortion, which is nearly double the lead Biden had in May of this year.
Forty-two percent of voters in the poll said Harris was too liberal, and 37 percent said the same about Biden in the same states last October.
The Trump campaign has been casting Harris as a left-wing extremist who they say is out of touch with voters in key swing states.
But the poll suggests the campaign’s attack has not worked, with nearly two-thirds believing Harris is smarter than the former president.
Among Democratic voters, satisfaction with the candidate’s choice has skyrocketed since Harris entered the race, rising 27 points in key states.
The poll showed Harris is now performing better with Black and younger voters, sectors of the electorate that had begun to erode under Biden, as well as retaining older voters.
The Trump campaign has called Harris a left-wing extremist who they say is out of touch with voters in key swing states. Pictured here are Trump supporters at a rally in Montana on Friday
Retiree Lee Lanser of Holland, Michigan, normally votes Republican but is now considering voting for Harris in November.
Speaking to the Times, he said he might disagree with some Democratic policies but could not stand Trump’s “disrespectful” and “unacceptable” attitude.
The 89-year-old told the outlet: ‘I find some of its features very appealing, but I’m not sure I agree with many of its policies.
“But for me the alternative is not at all acceptable, because character is everything.”
While John Jordan, a Democratic voter from Croydon, Pennsylvania, said his friends and family were “more excited” to support Harris than Biden.
He told the outlet: ‘I think she is the most suitable person to lead this country forward.
“I’ll also go a step further and say that I’m very proud to be a part of this historic moment and I hope that, yes, she becomes the first African-American and Asian woman to be in the White House. I think this is a very exciting moment.”
Jonathan Ball, a flooring installer from Jackson, Michigan, said he believes Trump would do more to help American workers than Harris.
“I think it’s more liberal. I don’t think it’s pro-middle class. I see it as one-sided. You know, pro-rich,” he told the outlet.
The new poll also found mixed feelings about Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
A series of past comments have come back to haunt the Ohio senator, including a comment that the country was being run by “childless cat ladies” like Harris.
In all three states, Vance is now viewed as widely unfavorable among independent voters.
A third say they are dissatisfied, while another 17 percent say they are “angry” with the selection.
He has received a lukewarm response from Republicans: 43 percent said they were enthusiastic about Vance as vice president, while 38 percent said they were satisfied but not enthusiastic.
Gov. Tim Walz, who Harris put forward as her vice presidential candidate, has received high marks from Democrats
A series of past comments have come back to haunt the Ohio senator, including a comment that the country was being run by “childless cat ladies” like Harris.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who was proposed by Harris as her choice for vice president, has received higher ratings.
In Pennsylvania, 48 percent of Democrats said they were enthusiastic about the candidate; the Wisconsin and Michigan poll was conducted before his announcement.
Concern about Vance’s choice as vice president was echoed by Barbara Kampa, a two-time Trump voter from Greendale, Wisconsin.
She told the Times she was shocked when she first heard Vance was on the campaign trail.
The 64-year-old said: ‘I thought, ‘Oh shit. I don’t know how to say it nicely, but shit.’
“You have to sit him down and say, ‘Well, this is how we approach things so that people will vote for us.'”
“You can’t just go out on the street like it’s the Wild West and start shooting. That puts people off.”
Harris is now scheduled to debate Trump on Sept. 10 on ABC, marking the first head-to-head matchup between the rivals in what polls show is a tight race.
Harris attends her and Governor Tim Walz’s presidential campaign rally in the High Country of Wisconsin, the United States, on August 7, 2024.
At a news conference at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence, Trump said he wanted additional debates on Sept. 4 and 25 that would air on Fox and NBC.
Harris said in a post on X that she was looking forward to the Sept. 10 debate after Trump “finally compromised.”
She told reporters after a campaign stop in the Detroit area that she was open to discussing more debates, but a campaign official reiterated her position that a Fox debate on Sept. 4 is off the table.
Harris’ campaign had previously opposed a debate on Fox, saying the host network should be one that sponsored the recent primary debates of both parties.
Trump had previously suggested he might withdraw from the ABC debate, scheduled before Harris, the US vice president, replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee less than three weeks ago, upending the race.