COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The race for the White House in this November’s election is nearly tied, new polling shows.
An Emerson College national poll shows 49% of voters support Vice President Kamala Harris, 48% support former President Donald Trump, 2% are undecided and 1% plan to vote for someone other than the major party’s nominees. The poll, with a +/- 3-point margin of error, surveyed 1,000 likely voters Oct. 14-16.
“Women and male voters break in near opposite directions: men for Trump, 56% to 42%, and
women for Harris, 55% to 41%,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College
Polling. “Hispanic voters break for Harris, 61% to 35% and Black voters 81% to 12%,
while white voters break for Trump 60% to 38%.”
When undecided voters are asked which candidate they lean toward, Harris’ overall support increases to 50% and Trump’s to 49%, the poll found. A majority of voters, 80%, said they made up their minds about which candidate to support over a month ago, and 11% made up their minds in the last month, 6% made up their minds in the past week and 3% still have not made up their mind.
“Voters who made their decision on who to support over a month ago break for Trump, 52% to
48%, while voters who made up their mind in the last month or week break for Harris, 60% to
36%,” said Kimball. “The three percent of voters who said they could still change their mind
currently favor Harris, 48% to 43%.”
On the generic congressional ballot, 48% plan to vote for the Democratic candidate, 45%
support the Republican candidate, and 7% are undecided. A plurality of voters, 38%, find the economy to be the most important issue facing the nation, followed by immigration at 16%, threats to democracy at 13%, abortion access at 9%, healthcare at 7%, housing affordability at 6%, and crime at 4%.
Regarding the federal government’s response to Hurricanes Francine and Milton, 24% rate the
response as excellent, 28% as good, 23% as not so good, and 25% as poor.
The new polling comes after another recent survey found Trump continues to poll strongly in Ohio, besting Kamala Harris 51%-44% among likely voters. Trump has won the state in his two previous campaigns by nearly identical eight-point margins.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents believe the country’s economic condition has worsened in the last year and only 23% percent believe the country is headed in the right direction. Trump continues to be a polarizing figure as a nearly equal number of respondents hold favorable, 46%, vs. unfavorable, 49%, views of him.