Two of Three Rust Belt States in US Show Harris Narrow Lead

[US Election 2024]

With the U.S. presidential election just 6 days away, CNN reported on the 30th (local time) that Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party holds a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump of the Republican Party in two of the three Rust Belt battleground states (the declining industrial region near the Great Lakes) that will decide the election outcome.

CNN and polling agency SSRS conducted surveys from the 23rd to the 28th targeting 726 registered voters in Michigan (margin of error ±4.7 percentage points), 819 in Pennsylvania (margin of error ±4.7 percentage points), and 736 in Wisconsin (margin of error ±4.8 percentage points).

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

In Michigan, Vice President Harris leads former President Trump with 48% to 43%. In Wisconsin, Harris also leads with 51% to Trump's 45%. In Pennsylvania, the largest battleground state with 19 electoral votes, both candidates are tied at 48% each.

The ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin still include the name of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed former President Trump. Kennedy's support stands at 3% in Michigan and 1% in Wisconsin.

These three battleground states hold a total of 44 electoral votes and are considered key swing states. Once known as the so-called "Blue Wall" region with strong Democratic support, it has declined into the Rust Belt, shifting public sentiment. In the 2016 presidential election, these states played a decisive role in Trump's victory and his entry into the White House. In 2020, they swung back to President Joe Biden. CNN noted that the current survey results are almost identical to those conducted in these three states last summer.

Vice President Harris and former President Trump are accelerating their final campaign efforts to win over voters in the three Rust Belt battleground states.