A raft of polls has come out this week, and they all show one thing: Harris and Trump are in a dead heat to win in key swing states, while Harris holds a slight edge nation-wide.
The surveys point to a tight election that could come down to a handful of voters in crucial battleground states, where candidates are focusing their energy in the final weeks of the campaign.
The latest polling average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ tracker has Harris leading Trump an average of 49.8 percent to 46 percent nationally. Recent national polls out this week have similarly found Harris with a slight lead. But neither candidate has a firm hold on the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
Harris and Trump are locked in tight contests in seven swing states, according to surveys from Emerson College Polling and The Hill released Thursday.
The surveys found Trump with a nominal edge over Harris in Arizona (49 percent to 48 percent); Georgia (50 percent to 47 percent); Pennsylvania (48 percent to 47 percent); and Wisconsin (49 percent to 48 percent), while Harris came out on top in Michigan (49 percent to 47 percent) and North Carolina (49 percent to 48 percent). The candidates were tied at 48 percent in Nevada.
Meanwhile, a separate poll from The New York Times, Siena College and Philadelphia Inquirer also released Thursday showed Harris leading Trump 50 percent to 46 percent in Pennsylvania.
The candidates in each state’s polls came within their respective margins of error.
“There has been modest movement in the presidential election since the late August Emerson swing state polls before the presidential debate,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement on the razor-thin status of the race.
But elections analyst Amy Walter of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report on Thursday cautioned: “If you want to drive yourself insane for the next 40+ days, tether yourself to the latest prediction models for the outcome of the presidential election.”
Instead, Walter urged people to look to notable trends, including the shifting perceptions of Harris.
Polling suggests Harris has made strides in public perception in the two months since becoming the Democratic nominee following President Biden‘s decision to end his reelection bid, and a growing number of people in a Morning Consult poll released this week also said that they trust the vice president to handle the economy — a top issue in the presidential campaign.
A poll out Thursday from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 50 percent of American adults have a favorable view of Harris to 43 percent unfavorable — a notable shift from late July, when her favorability polled at about 46 percent with nearly an equal number of people surveyed finding her unfavorable at 47 percent.
An AP poll found Trump’s favorability remains underwater at 58 percent unfavorable to 38 percent favorable.
