Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are in a tie of 48% each for the popular vote, The New York Times/Siena College final national poll for this election season revealed Friday.
The numbers do not bode well for Harris, considering Democrat candidates in recent years have taken the popular vote, even while losing the Electoral College nod, as was the case in 2016 when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump, reports The New York Times.
The poll was conducted of 2,516 registered voters nationally between Oct. 20-23 and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Harris' numbers have taken a slight drop since October when the Times/Siena College poll had her at a 49%-46% lead over Trump, but even then, the numbers left them at a statistical tie, considering the polling margin of error.
Even the polls in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin remain tight, pointing to a contest that remains up in the air with less than two weeks left until Election Day.
Some factors could swing the race toward one or the other of the candidates.
Immigration, one of the top issues among voters, is a strong suit for Trump, who has slammed Harris, the Biden administration's "border czar" on the matter.
Trump has promised that if elected, he'll launch the "largest deportation" in American history, and voters in the NY Times/Siena College poll said by an 11% margin that they trust him over Harris to handle the situation.
However, the number of Americans who say that Trump, at 78 years of age, is too old to be president stayed at 41% since July, which could prove an advantage for Harris among voters.
Harris has also drawn closer to Trump when it comes to the economy, the top issue for voters. Trump had a 13-point edge on Harris concerning the economy, but his lead shrunk to 6 percentage points.
Harris also held a 16-point lead over Trump in the poll about who would better protect access to abortion, and those numbers may grow. The survey showed that 15% of voters said they are not decided on who would handle the abortion issue better, and 42% of those people said they lean toward Harris, compared to 32% for Trump.
But two weeks ago, Trump held that edge with the undecided voters by 36% to 35%.
The poll also showed that Harris is ahead by 59% to 40% with voters who have already cast their ballots. However, there are signs that Republicans are also increasingly voting early this year, unlike in the past.
Other numbers have changed little in the Times/Siena polls over the past three months, including voters' opinion of Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. She was seen favorably by 48% of the voters, as was Trump.
Harris also continued to lead among women, by 54% to 42%, with Trump ahead with men by 55% to 41%, numbers that have changed little in comparison with other polls.
In addition to the presidential race being deadlocked, the poll also found that 48% said they plan to vote for a Republican for Congress, with 48% saying they plan to vote for a Democrat.
© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.