Trump, Harris tied on eve of televised presidential debate

The US presidential race remains neck-and-neck according to polls released yesterday, two days before Kamala Harris and Donald Trump hold their first – and potentially only – televised debate.
The latest polling confirms that Trump retains locked-in support from about half of voters, despite the Republican’s historic status as a convicted felon and his role in instigating the unprecedented attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.

Harris, who only jumped into the race after President Biden abruptly quit in July, has rapidly transformed herself from a little-noticed vice-president into a serious contender.
However, the polls show that she has not made a major breakthrough, leaving the race a toss-up.
A New York Times/Siena poll found that 78-year-old Trump is leading Harris nationally by 48% to 47%, well within the margin of error.

US presidential elections are decided by tallying the results of state-by-state contests, rather than an overall national popular vote, meaning that a tiny handful of swing states typically decide the balance.
The poll found Harris, 59, narrowly ahead in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania and tied in four other swing states – Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona.

The poll notably showed that voters feel they need to learn more about Harris, while their opinions on Trump are largely set.
In the survey, 28% of likely voters said that they needed more information about the Democratic nominee, while only 9% said the same about Trump.

A CBS News/YouGov poll put Harris ahead by one percentage point in Michigan and Wisconsin and tied in Pennsylvania.
The election is already chaotic, with 81-year-old Biden dropping out amid concerns over his age, Trump narrowly surviving an assassin’s bullet at a rally, and fears mounting that Trump will again refuse to concede if he loses in November.

However, the latest numbers confirm that each candidate retains a remarkably stable base of loyalists, almost evenly splitting the country.
The poll notably showed that voters feel they need to learn more about Harris, while their opinions on Trump are largely set.

In the survey, 28% of likely voters said they needed more information about the Democratic nominee, while only 9% said the same about Trump.
One game changer could be tomorrow’s ABC News debate, the only one scheduled between the two.
Trump will be under pressure to rein in his characteristic use of insults and intimidation as he stands next to a mixed-race candidate vying to become the first female president in US history.