A new poll conducted after last week’s presidential debate shows Vice President Kamala Harris holding a narrow three-point lead over former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, a state widely considered pivotal in the upcoming election, Fox News reports.
The USA Today/Suffolk University poll, conducted from September 11-14, surveyed 500 likely voters in the Keystone State and found Harris ahead of Trump 49%-46%. While the lead is within the poll’s margin of error of 4.4 percentage points, it suggests a tight race in a state that could ultimately decide the outcome of the election.
The poll comes just 50 days before Election Day and marks the first major survey of Pennsylvania voters since the debate. It follows a CBS News poll conducted in early September, which showed a tied race in the state.
Both candidates have heavily campaigned in Pennsylvania, one of seven key battleground states that will likely determine the winner. This state, with its 19 electoral votes, holds significant weight in the electoral process.
The poll reveals a widening gender gap favoring Harris. She leads Trump by 17 points among women, while the former president has a slimmer 12-point lead among men. This trend is consistent in two separate surveys conducted in Erie and Northampton counties, bellwether areas that often predict the outcome of Pennsylvania elections.
The campaigns and their allied super PACs are heavily investing in Pennsylvania, with more resources being poured into the state than any other battleground. Both sides are also securing more airtime in the Keystone State than any other swing state, according to AdImpact, a leading national ad tracking firm.
Pennsylvania, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, forms the Democrats’ “Blue Wall,” which was lost to Trump in 2016. Biden, however, regained the state in 2020, carrying all three states by narrow margins. This year’s election, however, is anticipated to be extremely close, with both candidates vying for the support of Pennsylvania voters.
