An NBC poll Saturday claimed that former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are now tied nationally with both having 48 per cent support as Trump this month erased Kamala Harris’ lead. Trump is in a dead heat with Harris with a four point boost compared to NBC’s September poll while Harris is down by one point.
The September NBC polls showed Trump at 44 per cent and Harris in the lead by 5 per centage points, at 49 per cent.”As summer has turned to fall, any signs of momentum for Kamala Harris have stopped,” Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, who worked to carry out the NBC poll with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, said. “The race is a dead heat.”
Five major findings of the NBC survey
- Kamala Harris’ popularity is declining compared to a month ago after she got a big summertime boost.
- There is a massive gender gap between support for Harris and Trump. Trump is leading among rural voters, white voters and whites without college degrees. Harris is leading among Black voters, younger voters and white voters with college degrees. Women are supporting Harris by a 14-point margin and men are supporting Trump by 16 points
- The voters are viewing abortion as a top motivating issue in the 2024 vote.
- 10 per cent of voters said they might change their minds.
- A sliver of unclaimed voters are still on the fence.
Republican pollster McInturff said Harris’ popularity waned as the vice president does not represent change from President Joe Biden and voters see Trump’s presidency in a more positive light than Biden’s. “She is asking for another term from the incumbent party,” McInturff said.
“The challenge for Kamala Harris: Can she meet the moment and fill in the blanks that voters have about her?” asked Horwitt, the Democratic pollster. “The challenge for Donald Trump: Can he make the case that the chaos and personal behavior that bothered so many about his first term will not get in the way of governing and representing America?” he added.
NBC says in the new poll was conducted October 4 to 8, Harris gets support from 48 per cent of registered voters in a head-to-head matchup, while Trump gets an identical 48 per cent. Another 4 per cent say they are undecided or wouldn’t vote for either option when forced to choose between those two major-party candidates.