Harris is ahead of the Republican presidential nominee by 3 points in a poll by Leger conducted between July 26 and July 28. The poll, which surveyed 1,002 U.S. residents and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, showed she was leading Trump with 49 percent of the vote to his 46 percent. That represents a 4-point increase for the Democrat since Leger’s June poll.
When third-party candidates were included in the Leger poll, Harris’ lead over Trump grew to 7 points, to 48 percent, compared to the former president’s 41 percent.
Harris had a smaller lead of 2 points over Trump in four other national polls. These include a poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov, where the vice president polled at 46 percent among 1,434 registered voters—a lead within the poll’s 3 percent margin of error.
The other polls, conducted between July 23 and July 30 by Redfield and Wilton Strategies, Angus Reid, and Florida Atlantic University, showed Harris leading by 2 points—within each poll’s margin of error.
Harris’ lead was smallest in a poll of 2,223 registered U.S. voters conducted by Morning Consult between July 26 and July 28. She led Trump by 1 point—47 percent to the former president’s 46 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Trump and Harris for comment via email.
Since she launched her campaign two weeks ago, polls have been largely positive for Harris. They show that she has narrowed the gap on Trump compared to when President Joe Biden was on the ticket. Polls have also shown the vice president leading in multiple swing states that could play a pivotal role in deciding the election in November.
However, a number of polling experts still believe Trump is still the current favorite to win in November.
According to election analyst and statistician Nate Silver, while Harris is more likely to win the popular vote, Trump has a greater chance of winning the Electoral College
Silver’s model shows that Trump has a 54.9 percent chance of winning the Electoral College, while Harris’ chances stand at 44.6 percent. In the popular vote, Harris has a 53.5 percent chance of winning, while Trump has a 46.5 percent chance.
The model also showed Harris as a slight favorite to win Michigan, giving her about a 54 percent chance to carry the state, while Trump had about a 46 percent chance. Wisconsin, another crucial battleground, was tied, with each candidate having a 50 percent chance of carrying it in November.
It gave Trump a narrow edge in Pennsylvania, where the former president had about a 53 percent chance of winning; Harris had a 47 percent chance of winning it. Trump held more significant leads in other swing states Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
Silver correctly predicted 49 of 50 states in the 2008 presidential election.
Meanwhile, aggregate polls from The New York Times, The Hill, and RealClearPolitics show Trump leading Harris by between 1 and 2 points. However, they also show Trump leading Harris at a smaller margin than his lead over Biden prior to the president’s exit from the race.
Harris is expected to decide who will be her running mate in the coming days. The two will then travel to key swing states across the U.S. next week as she aims to sustain the momentum her campaign garnered since she replaced Biden at the top of the ticket. The Democratic National Convention will be held the following week in Chicago.
Trump, meanwhile, has two events on his calendar for the next week. According to his campaign website, he is set to hold campaign rallies in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, and in Bozeman, Montana, on August 9.