Trump support ticks up in postdebate national, battleground polling

Former President Trump’s support has ticked up nationally and in battleground states, according to postdebate polling released Wednesday.

The CBS News/YouGov survey found Trump is leading President Biden nationally with 50 percent of support among likely voters, compared to the incumbent’s 48 percent. It also found the former president narrowly edges out Biden in battleground states, garnering 51 percent of support compared to the president’s 48 percent.

The presumptive GOP nominee’s support in battleground states has jumped up since the same question was asked last month. Biden had a slight lead over Trump in battleground states then, with 50 percent of support to Trump’s 49 percent.

The battleground states included in the survey are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

When third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West and Jill Stein are included, Trump’s lead over Biden expands to 4 points. Just under 45 percent said they would back Trump, 40 percent said Biden and 11 percent said Kennedy. Stein received 3 percent and West received 2 percent, according to the survey.

The poll also found that 91 percent of Republicans said they would definitely vote in November, while 81 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independents said the same.

The survey was conducted in the days following the first presidential debate this cycle, where Biden’s lackluster performance sparked concerns among Democrats about his ability to serve and win the election. Other initial postdebate polls have shown Biden losing ground to Trump, as some Democrats call for Biden to be replaced on the ticket.

Biden’s campaign has tried to push back on the concerns, emphasizing that the president will not be stepping out of the race. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged questions about his mental state on Tuesday, but said concerns about the president’s ability to do the job were being taken seriously.

The poll was conducted among 2,826 registered voters nationwide between June 28 and July 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.