Just days before US election, Trump, Harris neck-and-neck in key swing states

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) – With the election just days away, US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in key swing states, according to the latest polls.

According to an Economist/YouGov poll released on Wednesday, 47% of registered voters say they will or already have voted for Democratic candidate Harris, while 46% say the same of Republican candidate Trump.

Due to rounding, the actual gap between the candidates among registered voters is closer to 2 points than 1, aligning more closely with recent weeks and reflecting the race’s stability. Among likely voters – defined as registered voters who say they will definitely vote, have already voted, or probably will vote and participated in 2020 or 2022 – Harris holds a slight lead, 49% to 47%.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Harris has maintained her lead nationally and in the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, though her lead in Pennsylvania has narrowed over the past week.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to lead in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, it added.

RealClearPolitics, which tracks all major polls, shows Trump with a 0.4% point lead nationally, while in battleground states, he has a small lead of %1.

CBS News polling shows the race in Pennsylvania between Trump and Harris is extremely tight, with each candidate with 49% support from voters.

A Fox Poll released Wednesday shows Trump leading Harris by a narrow one-point margin in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, while the two are tied in Michigan.

Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the seven key swing states in this election.

Those swing states are pivotal, because the US does not directly elect its presidents. Instead, the process plays out via the Electoral College, where 538 representatives cast their ballots in line with their state outcomes.

Either candidate needs to secure 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their electors to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not used in the states of Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes proportionally based on their final outcomes.

US Election Day – including both presidential and congressional elections – is set for next Tuesday, Nov. 5.