A series of new polls with just two weeks to go before Election Day show Donald Trump holding an edge on the economy, an issue that historically drives presidential races.
At a time when voters are still focused on inflation even as it has cooled to 2.4 percent, Americans are concluding that Trump will leave them wealthier and narrowly saying they trust him more on the economy.
Trump holds a narrow 48 to 46 percent in a new CNBC All-America Economic Survey.
But among those who make inflation and the economy a priority, Trump’s lead rises to 42 to 24.
Trump also holds a narrow 48 to 47 in the battleground states that that will determine the outcome of the election.
Former President Donald Trump is enjoying support among voters who call inflation and the economy a priority in a new poll
Both candidates are criss-crossing the country in those states to get out their economic messages, with Harris fielding questions about inflation at a town hall in Pennsylvania, and Trump heading out west to continue to promote his plan to deport millions of migrants who came here illegally.
Trump held a 35-point lead among those most concerned about economy, an issue he stresses constantly, and 19-point lead among those most concerned about crime and safety – and issue he often weaves with immigration by speaking about gruesome murders committed by migrants.
In the seven battleground states, Trump leads 48% to 47%, within the 4% margin of error for that portion of the poll.
The survey also showed Trump has a 35-point advantage among voters most concerned about immigration and a 19-point edge on the issue of crime and safety.
Another poll in the Financial Times conducted by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business had Trump holding a narrow edge on the economy.
He led Harris 44 percent to 43 percent, essentially a tie. Asked who would make them better off financially, respondents picked Trump 45 to 37 percent.
Ross School of Business professor at the University of Michigan Erik Goldron said Harris’s economic plans ‘stirred up as much disappointment as enthusiasm,’ a day after she struggled to explain her plan to tax the rich at a CNN town hall.
Vice President Kamala Harris has struggled to explain her economic message to voters
‘If she is going to win the election, she is going to have to win it on other issues,’ he said, at a time when Harris’s campaign is preparing for a speech on the National Mall at the same spot where Trump spoke on January 6.
A new Wall Street Journal poll gives Trump a two-point lead over Harris, 47 to 45, while also revealing a rise in her negative approval ratings.
She has an unfavorable rating in the poll of 53 to 45 percent – her worst rating since July.
Voters are also holding rosier recollections of Trump’s time in office, approving of his tenure by 52 to 48 percent.
It comes amid a barrage of negative ad spending by Trump and his allies, as well as new data that says Harris’s policies, when offered blind, are more popular than Trump’s.
‘Voters are finally getting to know her,’ GoP pollster David Lee, who helped conduct the survey, told the paper. ‘The definitional period is coming to an end, and more people are unhappy with what they have learned about her than what they know about President Trump.’
