Harris ahead of Trump in swing states, tight races in 3 states may decide election: CNN poll

Kamala Harris is ahead of Donald Trump in six battleground states, according to the latest CNN-SSRS poll.

Of the six battleground states, the poll found that Harris was ahead in two, Trump was ahead in one, and no clear winner could be projected in three.

The states considered as the battleground states in the poll were Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Arizona.

Even as the polls show Harris consistently ahead of Trump nationally , the contest is relatively tighter in battleground states. The poll shows that the race is too tight in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania and the results there may determine the winner.

In the US electoral system, there are no nationwide elections like India or the United Kingdom where voters elect lawmakers nationally and the party with most seats wins. The US presidential election is centred around the electoral college. Each state sends a fixed number of electors to the electoral college which has a total of 538 electors.

The US presidential election is therefore a bunch of state elections. The candidate who gets most votes in a state wins all its electors. The campaigns are tailored such that the candidate reaches the majority-mark of 270 electors. While most states are known to lean Democrat or Republican, a bunch of states keep swinging between the two and are called swing states or battleground states. These states are the real deciders of the election and see the fiercest campaigning .

Harris leads but Trump puts up tough fight

Even as Harris is ahead in more battleground states, Trump is also not far behind.

The CNN-SSRS poll found that Harris was leading in Wisconsin and Michigan whereas Trump was ahead only in Arizona. The contest in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania was too close to be called.

The exact findings are as follows:

• Wisconsin      : Harris : 50%, Trump : 44%

• Michigan        : Harris : 48%, Trump : 43%

• Arizona           : Trump: 49%, Harris : 44%

• Georgia          : NO CLEAR WINNER

• Nevada          : NO CLEAR WINNER

• Pennsylvania: NO CLEAR WINNER

In the three undeclared states of Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, up to 15 per cent likely voters said they had not made up their minds about whom to vote for, according to the poll. These undecided voters in battleground states could make or break the fortunes of candidates.

In 2020, Biden won all six of these states even though the victories in Georgia and Arizona were quite narrow — around 12,000 and 10,000 respectively.

Even as Harris leads, Trump fares better on economy

As has been the case for decades, economy remains the most important issue for voters, according to the CNN-SSRS poll.

Around 39 per cent of likely voters considered economy as the top issue and saving democracy as the next most important issue at 25 per cent, as per the poll.

The poll found that Trump had a lead of 8 per cent over Harris when it came to the ability to handle the economy.

Trump was also ahead among likely voters on handling the immigration whereas Harris, just like Biden, was ahead on abortion and reproductive rights. Harris was also leading in all six states among women by 27 per cent.

The poll further found that likely voters in all states believed that compared to Harris, Trump’s policies were more extreme — so extreme that they posed a threat to the United States.