Blitz Bureau
WASHINGTON: Democratic US Vice-President Kamala Harris held a marginal 46 per cent to 43 pc lead over Republican former President Donald Trump, with a glum electorate saying the country is on the wrong track, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Harris’ lead in the six-day poll, differed little from her 45 pc to 42 pc advantage over Trump in a Reuters/ Ipsos poll conducted a week earlier, reinforcing the view that the contest is extraordinarily tight with just two weeks left before the election.
Both polls showed Harris with a lead within the margin of error, with the latest poll showing her ahead just 2 percentage points when using unrounded figures.
The new poll showed that voters have a dim view of the state of the economy and immigration – and they generally favour Trump’s approach on these issues. Some 70 pc of registered voters in the poll said their cost of living was on the wrong track, while 60 pc said the economy was heading in the wrong direction and 65 pc said the same of immigration policy.
Voters also said the economy and immigration, together with threats to democracy, were the country’s most important problems. Asked which candidate had the better approach on the issues, Trump led on the economy – 46 pc to 38 pc – and on immigration by 48 pc to 35 pc.
Immigration also ranked as the No. 1 issue when respondents were asked what the next president should focus on most in their first 100 days in office. Some 35 per cent picked immigration, with 11 pc citing income inequality and equal 10 per cent shares citing healthcare and taxes.
But Trump fared poorly on the question of which candidate was better to address political extremism and threats to democracy, with Harris leading 42 pc to 35 pc. She also led on abortion policy and on healthcare policy.
