NEW YORK : US Vice President Kamala Devi Harris is closing the gap with former President Donald Trump in several key U.S. battleground states as the November presidential election inches closer, according to a new poll.
The poll from The New York Times/Siena College found Harris is leading Trump in Arizona (50 percent to 45 percent) and North Carolina (49 percent to 47 percent).
Battleground states are where the number of Democratic and Republican voters is about the same.
The vice president’s momentum has in recent weeks led her campaign to declare that North Carolina, where Trump had built a solid lead when facing former President Joe Biden, is back in play for Democrats.
In Nevada and Georgia, Harris has largely closed the gap with the former president. Trump leads the vice president in Nevada 48 percent to 47 percent, and in Georgia, 50 percent to 46 percent, as per the survey.
As an average of the four Sun Belt states — Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada — Trump and Harris are tied at 48 percent, the survey shows. A win in at least one of these states with a sweep of the other three battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — would likely be enough to clinch the presidency.
Harris has steadily gained in national polls since Biden announced last month he would withdraw from the race and endorsed her to run in November. She became the official Democratic nominee earlier this month, and will formally accept the nomination alongside her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
A separate survey from The Times/Siena earlier this month found Harris leading Trump by at least four points Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Before Biden withdrew his candidacy, the former president was leading him by three percent in the three battleground states.
An August 10 poll from the New York Times/Siena found that Harris leads Trump by four points in the three states. Earlier in the year, Trump led Biden by three percent in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, three must-wins for Democrats to hold the White House.
Analysts regard Sunday’s poll as a significant improvement for Democrats compared to a similar survey conducted in May, in which Trump led Biden by 50 percent to 41 percent in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada. That poll did not include North Carolina.
The latest poll results also come after the independent election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted Arizona, Georgia and Nevada from “lean Republican” to “toss-up,” as Harris continues to chip away at Trump’s lead in most battleground states.
Democrats are said to be far more excited about the presidential race with Ms. Harris at the top of the ticket compared to Biden, with 85 percent saying they are at least somewhat excited for their candidate and the election, which is also far higher than the May poll.
Roughly 85 percent of Republicans are also at least somewhat excited to vote, which is close to the same as May.