In a new NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll, 3 in 10 registered voters said Tuesday's debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will help decide their vote.
According to the poll, released the day of the debate, 30% of registered voters said the debate will help them a great deal or good amount in making their selection for president. Roughly 69% said they do not think the event will help them very much or at all with their decision in November.
The poll found 70% of Americans said they will watch the debate, while 23% said they will not watch but will closely monitor news coverage. The survey found 72% of Democrats, 74% of Republicans and 67% of independents said they will watch most of, or the entire debate.
Overall, Harris leads Trump 49% to 48% nationally, according to the poll, with 1% undecided and another 1% voting for a third-party candidate. A poll in August found Harris up by 3 points.
Among those who say they definitely plan to vote, Harris (51%) edges Trump (48%) by 3 percentage points. Harris leads Trump among women by 15 points while Trump leads Harris among men by 12 points.
Although Trump is ahead among white voters, Harris (47%) is getting support from a larger proportion of this group than Biden (41%) in 2020 and Clinton (37%) in 2016.
Among independents, Trump leads Harris 49% to 46%. This represents a 14-point shift from August when Harris was up 11 points over Trump in a multicandidate field.
Trump also has turned around his support among Latino voters. In August, Harris led Trump among Latinos by 15 points in a multicandidate field. Trump with 51% now edges Harris at 47%, a 19-point swing.
The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll was conducted among 1,529 U.S. adults between Sept. 3-5. The margin of error for the overall sample is 3.2 percentage points.