President Trump Leads Joe Biden in Pennsylvania as Battleground States Tighten

FILE - In this combination of file photos, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Wilmi
AP Photo, File
Hannah Knudsen

Polling across six swing states shows a tightening presidential race, as President Trump and Joe Biden (D) find themselves neck and neck, according to a Change Research/CNBC survey released this week.

Change Research conducted the poll May 29-31, surveying 3,958 likely voters in six battleground states Trump won in 2016 — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Biden holds just a one-point advantage over the president across the six states — a lead within the poll’s +/- 1.56 percent margin of error.

The individual results indicate a tight race across the board. Trump leads in Pennsylvania by four points and Arizona by one point, while Biden leads in Florida by three points, Michigan by two, and North Carolina by one. Both are tied in Wisconsin, seeing 45 percent support each:

Joe Biden has a 7-point lead over Donald Trump nationally (48% Biden, 41% Trump). That is up from his 3-point lead two weeks ago and his greatest lead to date. Across the six battleground states Trump won in 2016, Biden now leads by 1 point (47% Biden, 46% Trump). This is a 3 point shift in the margin since our last wave and the first time Biden has led. Biden and Trump are at parity in Arizona (+1 Trump), North Carolina (+1 Biden), and Wisconsin (even), Biden leads in Florida (+3) and Michigan (+2), and Trump leads in Pennsylvania (+4).

While the election remains several months away, experts and critics appear to be taking recent polling data with a grain of salt, as many pollsters and establishment media outlets failed to accurately predict Trump’s victory in many of those battleground states and, ultimately, his shocking defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The survey coincides with the country’s gradual reopening following coronavirus shutdowns, which has been inundated by protests, many of which have turned violent.

Trump addressed the nation in a Rose Garden speech on Monday, vowing to restore law and order in the event that state leaders fail to adequately act and stop the lawlessness dominating their streets.

While Biden has criticized violent protests, he has also blamed police for escalating tension.

“There’s no place for violence, no place for looting or destroying property or burning churches or destroying businesses,” he said in part, adding, “Nor is it acceptable for our police, sworn to protect and serve all people, to escalate tension, resort to excessive violence.”

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