Biden nears finish line with useful lead in opinion polls
new york — With two days to go, Democrat Joe Biden holds a commanding national lead over President Donald Trump amid deep voter concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but Trump is keeping his hopes alive by staying competitive in the swing states that could decide the White House race.
Biden’s national lead over the Republican president has stayed relatively steady in recent months as the public health crisis has persisted. He is ahead 51 per cent to 43 per cent in the latest Reuters/ Ipsos poll taken October 27-29.
But Trump is still close to Biden in enough state battlegrounds to give him the 270 state Electoral College votes needed to win a second term. Reuters/Ipsos polls show that the race remains a toss up in Florida, North Carolina and Arizona.
Trump also trails by five points in Pennsylvania and nine points in Michigan and Wisconsin, three other battleground states that helped give him an Electoral College win in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote.
But even without Michigan and Wisconsin, Trump can win again if he holds all of the other states he won in 2016.
Trump’s deficit in the polls has been driven in part by an erosion in support from two big parts of his winning 2016 coalition, whites without a college degree and older Americans, and by public disapproval of his handling of the pandemic, which has become the dominant issue in the race. — Reuters
The race for the White House continues to break new ground and set records in 2020 — on early voting, ad spending and more. The presidential election is expected to come down to results in 10 states where residents tend to vacillate in their support between one party and the other. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Iowa and Ohio were essential for Donald Trump’s victory in 2016. And polls show that Joe Biden could disrupt Republican electoral power in Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and Texas this year. The number of electoral votes granted to each state is calculated by the number of representatives they send to the House (a number which itself is based on population) plus their senators (two each).
35 435 538 270 230 MILLION
Americans to vote
92 MILLION
People
138
MILLION Voted
6.6
$ BILLION
Spent by Trump-Biden in 2020
4.6
$ BILLION
Spent by Trump-Clinton race in 2016
14
$ BILLION
Spent in the run-up to November 3
7
$ BILLION
Of the total spent on congressional races