Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump 47 percent to 40 percent in the race to win the 5 November US presidential election, as she appeared to blunt Trump's edge on the economy and jobs, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found.
Harris had a lead of six percentage points based on unrounded figures, which showed her support from 46.61 percent of registered voters while Trump was backed by 40.48 percent, according to the three-day poll that closed on Monday.
The Democrat's lead was slightly higher than her five-point advantage over Trump in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from 11 September to 12 September.
The latest poll had a margin of error of about four percentage points.
While national surveys, including Reuters/Ipsos polls, give important signals on the electorate's views, the Electoral College's state-by-state results determine the winner, with seven battleground states likely to be decisive.
Polls have shown Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck in those battleground states, with many results within the polls' margins of error. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump with marginal leads in three of these states: Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.
When asked which candidate had the better approach to the "economy, unemployment, and jobs," some 43 percent of voters responding to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll picked Trump, and 41 percent selected Harris.
Trump's two-point advantage on the topic compares to his three-point lead in an August Reuters/Ipsos poll and his 11-point lead over Harris in late July, shortly after she launched her campaign.
Harris entered the race after President Joe Biden folded his reelection effort following a poor debate performance against Trump in June. At the time, Trump was widely seen as the frontrunner, partly based on his perceived economic strength after several years of high inflation under the Biden administration.
Reuters/Ipsos polling between April and June also showed voters picked Trump over Biden in terms of the economy, unemployment, and jobs by between five and eight points.
Trump has still had wide leads in some measures of confidence in his economic stewardship. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from August asked voters which candidate had a better approach to "the US economy" without specific reference to jobs or unemployment, and Trump led Harris by 11 points, 45 percent to 36 percent.
Both candidates are focusing campaign pledges on the economy, which the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed was the No. 1 issue for voters. Trump on Tuesday said he would create special manufacturing zones on federal lands and raise tariffs on imported goods.
Harris has pledged tax breaks for families with children and higher taxes for corporations. She is expected to unveil new economic proposals this week, even though some advisers acknowledge time is running out to convince voters with policy pitches.
The polling average maintained by FiveThirtyEight.com shows a close race at the national level, with Harris leading Trump 48.3 percent to 45.8 percent.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,029 US adults online nationwide, including 871 registered voters.
Among these, 785 were considered the most likely to turn out on Election Day. Among these likely voters, Harris led 50 percent to 44 percent, though similar to her lead among all registered voters, her advantage was only five points when using unrounded figures.
(Reuters)