Several surveys since the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris indicated voters were impressed by her poise, ability to stay calm and stage presence. However, polls and surveys also say she has failed to move the needle in key battleground states.
“In the nearly two dozen polls conducted since the match-up, Harris’s slight lead over Trump nationally and in swing states grew by less than one percentage point and, in some states, Trump’s lead grew,” reports The Hill.
The publication adds that Harris currently holds a 3.6 percentage point lead over Trump nationally, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ aggregate polling, which has grown just slightly since the day before the debate, when she had a 3.2 percentage point lead.
“Surveys in battleground states tell a similar story” adds The Hill. Harris saw slight spikes in her lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin in the weeks since the debate but her lead remained the same in Michigan, which makes up part of the blue wall. Trump has a 0.1 lead over Harris in Arizona and Georgia, two other key states a candidate needs to proclaim victory.
“While it’s true that the battleground states remain on a knife’s edge, that was always going to be the case in a country as split along partisan lines as we are right now, and no debate performance was going to shift those state numbers significantly,” said John LaBombard, former communications director to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).
According to the Hill’s polling, Harris is up 1.2 percentage points in Michigan, the aggregate polling shows, which is the same lead she had the day before the debate. Harris is up 1.1 percentage point in Pennsylvania, which is a minor increase from the 0.7 percentage point lead she had pre-debate.
And, in Nevada, Harris has a 1.2 percentage point lead, which is an uptick from the 0.5 percentage point lead she had pre-debate. Her biggest lead is in Wisconsin, by 2 percentage points, but that’s a decline from the 3 percentage point lead she had on Sept. 9.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, the aggregation shows Trump with a 0.1 percentage point lead over Harris, which is a flip from the 0.1 percentage point lead Harris had over him before the debate. Trump has a 0.1 percentage point lead in Georgia.
Harris ‘Falls Short’ of Moving Needle in Key Swing States After Debate Performance

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