Biden is strong on abortion rights, Trump on economy as two new polls show tight race in Pa.
WASHINGTON — Two new polls show an ongoing neck-and-neck race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, the nation’s most populous battleground state.
A Wall Street Journal survey put Mr. Trump ahead, 47% to 44%, while Franklin & Marshall College poll had Mr. Biden in the lead, 42% to 40% (when third-party candidates are included). The results were well within the polls’ margins of error of 4 percentage points.
Mr. Trump’s 2016 victory in the Keystone State ended a six-election Democratic winning streak. Mr. Biden, a native of Scranton, won back the state in 2020.
Both polls show Mr. Biden’s weakness on the economy, even as inflation dropped from its peak and the president has presided over record job growth.
Mr. Trump had a 52% to 35% advantage over Mr. Biden on the economy and a 52% to 32% advantage in handling inflation and rising costs in the Journal poll. In the F&M survey, Mr. Trump had a 48% to 39% advantage on which candidate is best prepared to handle the economy.
But there were some weaknesses in the polls for Mr. Trump as well.
On abortion, 46% of Pennsylvania voters said Mr. Biden was better able to handle the issue, compared to 32% for Mr. Trump; and on protecting democracy, Mr. Biden held a slight edge, 44% to 40%. Supporters of Mr. Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
In the F& M poll, Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump, 48% to 35% when respondents were asked which candidate is closer to their views on abortion, same-sex marriage and other social issues; by 43% to 28% on which candidate is more honest and trustworthy, and by 44% to 31% on the question of character and judgment.
The Journal poll put Mr. Trump ahead in five of the other six battleground states, albeit also within the margin of error: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. The two men were tied in Wisconsin.
That poll of 600 voters in each of the seven battleground states was conducted March 17-24. The F&M poll of 870 Pennsylvania voters was conducted March 20-31.