New polls give Kamala Harris lead over Donald Trump in three key states

Washington:

Kamala Harris now leads Donald Trump in three crucial battleground states, according to new polls published Saturday, seemingly undermining the advantage the former president enjoyed there last year.

Polls of likely voters by The New York Times and Siena College showed Harris leading Trump by an identical 50% to 46% margin in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Under the U.S. Electoral College voting system, these three populous Midwestern states are considered critical to either party’s victory.

The polls are a reversal of polls conducted in states that for nearly a year showed Trump tied or slightly ahead of Democratic President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race last month and endorsed Harris.

A lot can change in the almost three months leading up to the November 5th elections. The poll showed that voters still prefer Trump on the key issues of the economy and immigration, although Harris had a 24-point lead when voters were asked who they trust on the abortion issue.

Democrats, in any case, were buoyed by the wave of enthusiasm that greeted Harris’ candidacy, with many expressing relief after the 81-year-old Biden stepped aside.

His announcement Tuesday of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as his running mate also appears to have energized Democrats.

The Harris-Walz surge helped halt the surge in support for Trump that followed the July 13 attempt on his life and the successful Republican national convention last month.

But Harris enjoyed an even bigger boost in her favorability — a 10-point increase among registered voters in Pennsylvania in just one month, the Times/Siena poll found.

Voters said they saw her as smarter than Trump and better equipped to govern.

Trump, his running mate JD Vance and other Republicans have attempted a series of attacks designed to undermine Harris – with Trump even questioning her racial identity.

But new polls show that Democrats strongly support the younger, more energetic Harris who, with Walz, has been campaigning at a furious pace this week in swing states.

Among Democrats, voter satisfaction with the choice of candidates has increased by 27 points in the three Midwestern states since May, polls revealed.

Three months ago, it was Republicans who expressed a greater level of satisfaction.

The polls were carried out between the 5th and 9th of August, with at least 600 voters in each state.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)