John Jefferson
Vice President Kamala Harris has closed the enthusiasm gap with former President Trump as Democratic confidence surges in the wake of their Chicago convention, according to a new poll.
The USA Today/Suffolk University poll found Harris leading Trump 48% to 43% among likely voters, a lead that lies within the poll’s margin of error.
The swing toward Democrats also held true down ballot in the poll, with 48% of likely voters saying they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate in their local congressional election, compared to 43% for Republicans. That represents a seven-point swing from earlier this year, when Republicans held a slight 47-45 advantage over Democrats.
The USA Today poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters over landline and cellphone from Aug. 25-28, after the Democratic National Convention. The poll advertises a margin of error of 3.1 points.
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Democrats have proven to have the more confident voters in recent weeks as well, with 87% saying they are confident Harris will win in November. Meanwhile, just 76% of Republicans say they are confident Trump will win.
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That is a major swing for both parties compared to a few weeks ago, when 88% of Republicans said they were confident Trump would win and 73% of Democrats thought President Biden would win.
Despite the swing, Trump’s campaign has emphasized they like the current poll position, as they point out that the former president has a history of outperforming public opinion surveys.
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“At this point in the race in 2016, Donald Trump was down to Hillary Clinton by an average of 5.9 points. At this point in the race in 2020, it was 6.9 to Joe Biden,” senior adviser Corey Lewandowski noted this weekend in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
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Trump’s lead on the major issues in the election remains, with voters favoring him 51%-45% on the economy and 50%-47% on illegal immigration. Harris nevertheless holds a wide lead over Trump on abortion.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
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