US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has agreed to debate with his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris on September 10. The debate will be hosted by ABC, while additional debates are scheduled on September 4 and September 25 on Fox and NBC, respectively.
This will be the first face-off between the two rivals, and surveys indicate that the contest will be tough.
Trump vs. Harris: What do the surveys predict?
Ipsos Survey
The latest Ipsos poll, published on August 9, shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump 42 per cent to 37 per cent in the November 5 election. This marks a surge in her popularity after a Reuters/Ipsos poll on July 22-23 found her leading Trump 37 per cent to 34 per cent.
In a separate survey, Ipsos found that Harris leads Trump by 40 per cent to 42 per cent in the seven states where elections were closest in 2020 — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
YouGov Poll
A CBS/YouGov poll released on August 4 shows that Kamala Harris has come on par with Donald Trump. She has erased the lead that President Joe Biden had gained since he dropped his bid for re-election. The poll shows that Harris has a 1 percentage point lead over Trump across the country, compared to a five-point lead previously held by Trump. Harris and Trump are tied in swing states.
Furthermore, the survey shows that only 51 percent of respondents believed Trump was mentally capable of serving as president, while the figure for Harris was 64 percent.
Marist Poll
The NPR/PBS News/Marist poll shows Harris has a 51-48 percent lead over Trump among key demographics such as black voters, white women with college degrees and women who identify as political independents. Independent women voters are the decisive swing voters. Harris has made significant inroads with this group, leading Trump by 9 points (53-44 percent).
The survey also said that Harris had gained significant leads in suburban areas and among white voters overall, helping her improve her position compared to earlier surveys.
However, Trump still has an edge on economic issues and is ahead of Harris by 3 points (51-48 percent). Trump is also ahead of Harris on immigration, 52-46 percent.
Meanwhile, Harris has a clear lead on the issue of abortion and is 15 points ahead of Trump.
Kamala Harris, who entered the presidential race on July 21 after receiving President Joe Biden’s endorsement, has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. The move comes after Biden called off his campaign and dropped out of the race following his poor performance in the June 27 debate against Donald Trump.
Harris and Walz launched their joint campaign at a rally in Philadelphia, marking the start of their effort to take on Republican Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance in the upcoming presidential election.
