Harris holds 3-point lead over Trump in Pennsylvania poll

Vice President Harris is leading former President Trump by 3 points in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, a new survey found.

The survey, conducted by Franklin & Marshall College, found Harris leads with 49 percent support to Trump’s 46 percent. The survey noted the results are within the poll’s margin of error, but Harris maintained her lead despite independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropping out of the race.

Since entering the race in late July, Harris has not polled lower than 48 percent among Pennsylvania voters. Trump has only topped 48 percent support three times in the last eight surveys, the college noted.

Pennsylvania is a key swing state with 19 Electoral College votes, and President Biden narrowly won the state in the 2020 presidential election, which helped determine the outcome of the race.

“Turnout is undoubtedly a key variable in this race and the balance of regular and less frequent voters will be determinative,” Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, said in a statement.

Harris is leading with 51 percent support to Trump’s 47 percent among people who regularly vote, but the former president has the lead when it comes to infrequent voters.

Voters in Pennsylvania say Harris better understands the concerns of ordinary Americans and has the good judgement required to be president. Trump ranks higher on the economy, and more say he can handle the job of being commander in chief.

Fifty-six percent of respondents say Trump’s actions to try to remain in power after the 2020 election amounted to a serious crime while 39 percent deemed the efforts unserious.

The Franklin & Marshall survey is reflective of other polling. A Quinnipiac University survey found Harris leading Trump in Pennsylvania with 51 percent support to 45. In a Washington Post poll, she leads him by 1 point in the state.

The survey was released Thursday and polled 890 registered Pennsylvania voters. It has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.