According to the latest Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll, Donald Trump is behind Joe Biden by 10 percentage points. However, the margin in battleground states is quickly narrowing. In the final days before the presidential election, the national poll found that Biden is leading the country at 52 percent, followed by Trump at 42 percent.
Biden has maintained his advantage since polls last reported in mid-October. The Journal further writes that the former vice president has gained a surge of support from female and senior voters in the days leading up to the election.
However, the margin is still thin in the country’s 12 battleground states. Biden reportedly holds a 6-point lead in these, down from his 10-point advantage last month.
“This election is probably the most competitive 10-point race I’ve seen,” Republican pollster Bill McInturff — who conducted the survey alongside Democrat Jeff Horwitt — said. “The RNC has spent how many millions of dollars and the only thing they’ve focused on is turnout of non-college, white voters — especially in about six states.”
WSJ reports that Biden held a strong lead among people who planned to vote early, while Trump could hold an advantage among those who plan to vote today (Nov. 3). The outlet also polled Americans on the issues they believe to be most important, with 38 percent naming the Coronavirus and 41 percent saying the economy.
This election could also mark one of the country’s widest gender voting gaps in history, if the survey results prove to be true. Biden leads Trump by 20 percentage points among female voters. The Democrat has also pulled ahead by 23 points among senior voters, a notable reversal from Trump’s 2016 supporters.
Trump still leads by 21 points among white men in the 12 battleground states, which WSJ defined as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. McInturff said this lead is what’s keeping Trump a contender in the race.
“Any other incumbent president who was down 10 points, we would not be talking about his possibility of winning,” he said. “We would not be so cautious and not be so open to the idea that there’s a way to win this campaign.”
However, surveys have consistently shown unfavorable views of Trump’s overall presidential performance. NBC News and 41 Journal’s recent survey found “not a single poll that produced a result where more Americans approved than disapproved of his performance as president.”