A new national poll released Monday showed former President Donald Trump tied with Vice President Kamala Harris in approval ratings.
of Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll Fifty percent of registered voters said Trump was tied with Harris at 46 percent, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Cornel West each received the support of 1 percent of respondents.
In the two-candidate race, the 78-year-old Republican candidate leads the 59-year-old vice president by one percentage point, 47% to 46%.
Six percent of registered voters were undecided in a four-way matchup, while 7% were unsure in a head-to-head matchup, with a slightly higher share of undecideds supporting Harris (45%) than Trump (43%).
Voters felt Trump would do a better job on the economy, immigration, crime and China, but felt Harris would be more effective on policies regarding abortion, climate change and racial equality.
A majority, 52%, approved of Trump's job as president, while just 47% approved of Vice President Harris' job.
“Harris is close to being neck and neck, but Trump has the edge on the underlying numbers, given Trump's high job approval ratings and Biden's overall low approval rating,” said Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll.
The survey results suggest that Trump is likely to win the Electoral College election because Democratic candidates typically receive higher approval ratings than Republicans in national polls.
Democratic presidential candidates typically need at least a 3-point lead nationally to show they also have an advantage in battleground states that will decide the election.
For example, in 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton beat Trump in the national popular vote by 2.1 percentage points but lost several battleground states, giving Trump a decisive electoral college victory.
on the other hand, Pew Research Center PollThe report, also released Monday, found Harris and Trump in a close race.
A national survey conducted between Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 found that both Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump had the support of 49% of registered voters.
The group's previous poll, released in early August, showed Harris (46%) one point ahead of Trump (45%).
At this point in the 2020 campaign, the Pew Research Center reports that President Biden has a 10-point lead over President Trump, and in 2016, Clinton held a 7-point lead over the Republican candidate in early September.
