A sizable 15% of likely voters in six key swing states say they have not yet firmly decided between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House, a new CNN poll found.
With the presidential race generally considered a toss-up, the amount of undecided voters in battleground states could determine whether Trump or Harris wins the election.
After the Democratic National Convention last month, CNN conducted polls in six key swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The survey found that likely voters support Harris over Trump 50% to 44% in Wisconsin and for 48% to 43% in Michigan.
Trump leads 49% to 44% in Arizona.
The candidates are neck and neck in Georgia (Harris leads 48% to 47%) and in Pennsylvania (the two candidates are tied at 47%).
The CNN surveys suggest the Peach State and Keystone State are central in determining the next president. Double-digit shares of likely voters in both states — 12% in Georgia and 16% in Pennsylvania — say they haven't decided on a candidate, or that they might change their minds.
"President Joe Biden carried all six of these states in 2020, winning Georgia by just under 12,000 votes and Arizona by a little over 10,000 votes. Were Harris to hold Biden's 2020 wins outside of these six states and carry Wisconsin and Michigan, a win in Pennsylvania plus a single electoral vote from anywhere else would give her the presidency," CNN said.
"Should Trump hold North Carolina — a state he carried in 2020 and that is widely considered a battleground in this year's contest — wins in Georgia and Pennsylvania would put him over the top regardless of what happens in Wisconsin, Michigan, or Nevada. In that scenario, even Arizona, where he currently holds a narrow lead, would not be necessary for Trump to win another term as president."
The CNN surveys found that 39% of likely voters across the states say the economy is their top issue, and that Harris now trails Trump on trust to handle the economy by relatively smaller margins than Joe Biden did when the president was the expected Democrat nominee.
Trump is ahead of Harris by 8 points when voters are asked who to trust more on the economy, but the former president previously led Biden by 20 points in New York Times/Siena College polls of the same six states this spring.
SSRS conducted the CNN polls online and by telephone by SSRS Aug. 23-29 among 682 registered voters in Arizona, 617 in Georgia, 708 in Michigan, 626 in Nevada, 789 in Pennsylvania, and 976 in Wisconsin.