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Latest polls Harris vs. Trump: Here’s the most telling nugget from the final NY Times poll
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Latest polls Harris vs. Trump: Here’s the most telling nugget from the final NY Times poll

In the final New York Times and Siena College presidential poll released on FridayVice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, are tied nationally at 48 percent.

The Times wrote that the poll’s result “is not encouraging” for Harris because Democrats have historically held the popular vote advantage in recent elections, even though they lost the Electoral College. While The Times explains that “Harris is fighting for an advantage” over Trump, there are still some good signs for the vice president.

As a spokesman for the Harris campaign Ian Sams points out, The poll found that Harris has halved Trump’s lead on the economy since last month, she leads among undecided voters, and voters in recent years still lean toward Harris.

On the economy, the poll found Trump with a 6-point lead over Harris when respondents were asked which candidate could handle the economy better. That’s down significantly from when Trump had a 13-point lead on the economy in last month’s poll.

The poll also found that voters believe Trump is better at handling immigration, while more voters trust Harris to handle the abortion issue. Fifty-four percent said they would trust Trump more on immigration, while 55 percent said they trusted Harris to handle abortion.

The Times also noted that Harris “still has room to grow”, as 15% of voters said they were undecided on who to vote for. The poll found Harris with a 10-point lead among undecided voters, with 42 percent support, compared to Trump’s 32 percent. When the poll was conducted two weeks ago, The Times noted that Trump had a 1-point lead among undecided voters.

Of the 9 percent of respondents who said they had already voted, 59 percent of them said they voted for Harris. The Times said that trend is consistent with early Democratic voting in the past, although there are some signals this year that large numbers of Republicans vote early too.

With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, Harris and Trump are trying to shore up support in the seven critical battleground states that will likely determine the winner of the Electoral College. However, Harris is traveling to the deep red state of Texas on Friday to speak about abortion in an event that will reportedly include an appearance by Beyonce.

With presidential elections In a blistering heat, the Democratic nominee is banking on abortion rights as a major draw for voters — including Republican women, especially since Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn the constitutional right and was inconsistent on how he would approach the issue if voters return him to the White House.

Harris’ campaign has taken Beyonce’s 2016 song “Freedom” as its anthem, and the message matches the vice president’s push for reproductive freedom. The singer’s planned appearance on Friday adds a high level of star power to Harris’ visit to the state. While in Texas, Harris will also record a podcast with popular host Brené Brown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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