Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are virtually tied in two key swing states, according to a new New York Times and Siena College poll.
Among 688 likely voters in Michigan, 48% support Harris while 47% say they would back Trump, the latest poll shows. The race is similarly tight in Wisconsin, where Harris currently has 49% of the vote and Trump has 47%, a narrowing gap that points to Trump’s strength with voters on economic issues and is within poll’s margin of error, the NYT reported Saturday.
In early August, Harris maintained a lead of four points in both Wisconsin and Michigan, according to a prior NYT/Siena College poll. However, President Joe Biden was nearly tied with Trump in a May poll of voters from the states.
The new NYT/Siena College poll, which surveyed a total of 2,055 likely voters from Sept. 21 to Sept. 26, also reflects a six point lead for Trump in Ohio. Of likely voters across all three states, 27% said the economy was their top issue, followed by abortion at 18% and immigration at 13%.
More than half of voters thought Trump would do a better job with the economy, while just 42% said Harris. Trump was also favored to do a better job on immigration, with 53% of voters saying he would handle it better and 43% saying Harris.
On abortion, 54% of voters favored Harris and 40% favored Trump to do a better job.
Some voters who dislike Trump still struggle to endorse Harris, the NYT reported. One Wisconsin man told the NYT he does not intend to cast a vote for either candidate due to his distaste for Trump and his concern over Harris’ lack of substance.
“She’s kind of taking the car salesman pitch and trying to sell everybody that she’s not Trump, and that’s not enough,” Antonio Dawkins, a regional sales manager in a Milwaukee suburb, told the NYT. “She says a lot of things that sound good with no details. So I guess they call that — there’s no meat and potatoes.”
RealClearPolling averages reflect a similarly tight race, with Harris leading Trump by just 1 point in Wisconsin and 1.7 points in Michigan.
The Trump and Harris campaigns did not immediately respo_nd to requests for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America
