Democratic Party Vice President Kamala Harris leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by three points, with 46% to 43%, according to the latest poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos.
The four-day poll, which ended on Monday, showed that Trump, who trailed Harris by six points in the Reuters/Ipsos poll from September 20 to 23, was the preferred candidate on a range of economic issues. Some voters may be swayed by his claims that illegal immigrants are prone to crime, assertions that have largely been discredited by academics and research centers. The poll had a margin of error of about three percentage points, Reuters reports.
Respondents rated the economy as the biggest issue facing the country, with about 44% saying Trump had a better approach to addressing “cost of living” compared to 38% who chose Harris. Among a range of economic issues that the next president should address, around 70% of respondents said cost of living might be the most important, with only a small percentage choosing labor market, taxes, or the argument that “I’m financially better off.” Trump also had more support than Harris in each of these areas, although voters by a margin of 42 to 35% felt Harris was the better candidate to address the gap between the wealthy and average Americans.
Trump appeared to be encouraged by widespread concerns about immigration, which is currently at its highest level in America in over a century. About 53% of voters in the poll agreed with the statement that “illegal immigrants in the country pose a threat to public safety,” compared to 41% who disagreed. Voters were closer on this issue in the May Reuters/Ipsos poll, where 45% agreed and 46% disagreed.
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At campaign rallies throughout the year, Trump has drawn attention to crimes committed by illegal immigrants in the country. Although there is little data on the immigration status of criminals, studies have generally found that immigrants are not more prone to crime than native-born Americans.
Harris has led Trump in every one of the six Reuters/Ipsos polls since she entered the race in late July. The latest poll showed that Harris’s standing rose by two percentage points – 47% compared to 45% – among voters who appeared most likely to turn out in November. About two-thirds of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, according to estimates from the Pew Research Center.
In the latest poll, voters believed that Harris’s mental sharpness surpassed Trump’s, with 55% agreeing that she is “mentally sharp and capable of handling challenges,” compared to 46% who said the same about Trump.
While national surveys, including Reuters/Ipsos polls, provide important signals about voter sentiment, Electoral College results state by state determine the winner, with seven battleground states likely to be decisive. Polls have shown that Harris and Trump are neck and neck in those states, accounting for errors in many results.
Harris entered the race after Democratic President Joe Biden ended efforts for re-election, following a poor performance in a debate against Trump in June. At that time, Trump was widely seen as the favorite, partly based on his perceived strength in the economy after several years of high inflation under Biden’s administration.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,272 adults in the U.S. online, nationwide, including 1,076 registered voters. Of those, 969 were deemed most likely to vote on Election Day.
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Source: N1
Photo: EPA-EFE/ALLISON DINNER/KENNY HOLSTON