Donald Trump edged out Kamala Harris in one of the most widely followed national poll, which comes ahead of the much-awaited September 10 debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
According to the New York Times/Sienna poll, Trump leads Harris by 48 percent to 47 percent, with a three-point margin of error, showing an end to the Democratic candidate’s “honeymoon period and euphoric August.”
While Trump may have had a hard month with Biden’s resignation and the burst of enthusiasm generated by Harris, his support remains “remarkably resilient”, as per the survey.
The startling polling result may reflect a shift back toward Trump.
The NYT report, which cites a poll in which 28 percent of possible voters indicated the need to know more about Harris, states that the ABC debate will play a crucial role for her candidature. During her 90-minute debate against Trump, the US VP will have the chance to elaborate on her proposed measures.
In response to a question from a reporter ahead of the debate, Harris gave the thumbs up on September 8, saying that she was “ready” to debate him.
In contrast to Harris, just 9 percent of voters expressed the desire to learn more about Trump.
“Overall, the poll may bring Democratic exuberance back to earth after a buoyant party convention in Chicago last month and rapid gains in support for Harris after Biden’s poor showing in the polls. Harris held on to some of the gains she has made with key groups with whom Mr. Biden had been slipping — such as women, young voters and Latino voters — but fell short of traditional Democratic strength. She continues to struggle to build a solid lead with Latino voters, a crucial demographic,” the NYT report said.
Election data expert Nate Silver, Trump react to new poll
Commenting on the polling result, election data expert Nate Silver emphasised in a tweet about the importance of debate for Harris.
“Highest-rated pollster in the country and a large sample size, too. Fortunately for Harris she has the debate this week and none of this will matter if she has a good night,” he wrote.
The recent poll’s major findings are similar to the previous New York Times/Siena College poll, which was published in late July. Trump was ahead of Harris by one percentage point in that poll, a difference that was far within the poll’s margin of error.
According to polls, the race is extremely close in the seven crucial swing states that will probably decide the outcome of the election.
Harris has been actively campaigning since taking Biden’s place atop the Democratic ticket. However, she has kept her unscheduled appearances to a minimum and avoided doing many interviews with the media.
Meanwhile, Trump spokesperson Jason Miller told Politico that “The honeymoon is officially over.”
