Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has trimmed Vice President Kamala Harris' briefly held 5-point lead into a statistical tie within the margins of error in the latest ABC News poll released Sunday, which detailed the "economic discontent" and "issue divisions" as factors creating razor-thin margins.
The race is a dead heat at 49%-49% among the seven battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and just a 1-point lead for Harris 49%-48% among adults (excluding those who will not vote) and just 2 points for likely voters (50%-48%) and for all registered voters (49%-47%).
All results are within the poll's margins of error.
Harris had led by 5 points among likely voters and 4 points among registered voters in the past edition of the poll in mid-September.
Trump's gains have been most apparent among men and independents, according to ABC News.
Among the issues trending toward Trump:
- 56% of adults favor deporting illegals, an 8-point increase from the Build the Wall 2016 election eight years ago.
- Trump leads by 10 points on trust in handling the southern border and illegal immigration.
- Trump leads Harris by 8 points on trust in handing of the economy.
- Trump leads by 7 points on handling of inflation.
Among the issues clinging to Harris:
- 56% side with Harris on abortion.
- Harris leads Trump by 15 points in trust on handling this issue.
- Harris leads by 5 points (42%-37%) on "looking out for the middle class."
The Biden-Harris administration economic forces are dragging, too:
- The highest negative number since 1986 for a president on being better off financially showed 44% of Americans saying they are not as well off under President Joe Biden.
- 59% say the economy is getting worse – twice the number of those saying it is getting better (23%).
Trump dominates Harris by 53 points (74%-21%) among those who say the economy is worsening, and by 27 points (61%-34%) among those saying the country's best days are behind it.
ABC News/Ipsos poll produced by Langer Research Associates was conducted Oct. 4-8 among 2,631 adults, 2,226 registered voters, and 1,714 likely voters. The margins of error were plus or minus 2 percentage points for the two former pools and plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for the latter.