Politics

Biden Leads Trump Nationally And In 6 Swing States, CNBC Poll Shows

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Democratic 2020 presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump nationally and in the six most competitive battleground states, according to a CNBC poll released Wednesday.

Biden is ahead of Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida and North Carolina, according to a summary of the polls from battleground states, and leads Trump nationally by eight points, 51-43, according to Wednesday’s poll.

Biden leads by five points in Wisconsin, six points in Michigan and three points in Pennsylvania, three states that Trump won in 2016 by a total of just 77,000 votes. In an Aug. 12 CNBC poll, Biden led Trump by four points in Wisconsin, five points in Michigan and four points in Pennsylvania.

Biden leads by two points in Arizona, three points in Florida and one point in North Carolina, according to the poll.

The poll shows the differences between Biden’s lead and the Democratic lead in the polls in the 2016 presidential race. Though Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton led in Wisconsin by nine points, Michigan by 9.5 points and Pennsylvania by 10 points just prior to the 2016 election, those states helped seal Trump’s electoral victory.

Clinton led in Florida by 3.7 points and North Carolina by 1.3 points four years ago, according to the Real Clear Politics average, leads that are similar to Biden’s today.

While Biden holds a narrow lead over Trump in Arizona, Trump led by 4.5 points in the state four years ago, according to RCP.

Trump has a 45% approval rating and a 55% disapproval rating among voters nationwide, according to another CNBC poll released Wednesday.

Forty-seven percent of voters nationally approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. Forty-two percent of his voters approve of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 57% who disapprove, the poll shows.

Fifty-three percent of voters said that they trusted Biden over Trump to handle the United States’ economic recovery, and 56% of voters said that they believed Biden would do a better job at handling the pandemic.

Trump is performing relatively better in battleground states, with a 48% approval rating. Forty-seven percent of battleground voters approve of his handling of the coronavirus, and 51% approve of his handling of the economy, according to the CNBC poll.

The poll also shows that swing-state voters are more likely to approve of Democrats who hold statewide office in their respective state. Democratic governors in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina have approval ratings on COVID-19 of 54%, 55%, 51% and 56%, respectively, while Republican governors in Florida and Arizona have approval ratings of 49% and 39% for the same issue, according to the summary.

The CNBC battleground poll, conducted in partnership with Change Research, surveyed 4,904 likely voters in battleground states from August 21-23 and has a margin of error of 1.4%. The nationwide poll surveyed 2,362 likely voters with a margin of error of 2.02%.