Bad News For Kamala Harris In Two Key Swing States From Pre-Debate Poll

A new poll suggests Kamala Harris hasn’t got a firm grasp of support in two key swing states ahead of the presidential debate on ABC News today.
A Quinnipiac University poll released September 9 shows that the vice president is behind in Georgia, and that the voting preferences of citizens in North Carolina are too close to call.
The data showed her political rival Donald Trump had 49 percent of the support from the 960 likely voters surveyed in Georgia, while Harris had 45 percent.
Among 940 likely voters in North Carolina, Harris had 49 percent of support, while Trump had 46 percent, but as the poll’s margin of error is 3.2 points, Harris’ lead isn’t wide enough to confidently call.
Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy is quoted as saying in the poll report, “In 2020, it was Trump over Biden in a squeaker. Tuesday night, in what may be the only debate, Kamala Harris will try to flip North Carolina, an electoral heavyweight,” he added.
Last election, Biden won Georgia by a tiny margin of 0.23 percent — the first time the state was won by a Democrat since 1992. North Carolina is a long-standing purple state, and eight of the last 12 winners ended up in the White House. In 2020, Trump won the state by 1.3 percentage points.
Both states have 16 electoral college votes each, meaning they could have a significant impact on the election’s outcome.
“North Carolina and Georgia loom large among the potential pathways to the presidency and neither state offers a clear-cut favorite,” Malloy said.
The campaigns of Trump and Harris have been contacted by Newsweek for comment.
The survey also found that more independents leaned towards voting for Trump than Harris in North Carolina, with 47 percent saying they’d choose Trump and 42 percent picking Harris.
In Georgia, independents were also split, with 46 percent voting for Trump and Harris.
Across both the states, Trump attracted support largely from white and male voters, while Harris appealed more to black and female voters.
In the survey, participants were also asked about their views on the two potential leaders’ personalities, including if they felt the leaders cared about the needs and problems of the American people, if they showed good leadership skills, and if they were honest.
In both states, participants felt Trump cared more about the American people and was a better leader, while they felt Harris was more honest.
Earlier this month, polls showed Harris trailing behind Trump in five of seven battleground states, while a week ago another suggested she could still win the election despite Trump winning most swing states.
The data comes ahead of the presidential debate which will be the first time the two candidates come face to face.
Experts previously told Newsweek they believed Harris needed to follow three action moves in order to beat Trump, which included remaining dignified against his likely jibes, pushing her own mental clarity on issues, and targeting specific policy areas.
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