Big upset for Kamala Harris on day 1 of Democratic National Convention

Two surveys conducted in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania reveal that Trump holds a narrow lead over Harris, while a third national poll also shows her trailing the former president.

Current surveys conducted in the State of Pennsylvania, which is one of the swing states in the United States with an entitlement to 19 electoral votes, cyber poll by Cygnal and Emerson College polls suggest that Trump is ahead. According to a Cygnal poll done on the 14th and 15th of August among 800 likely voters, Trump is one point ahead of Harris, 44-43%. This poll put Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr at 5 percent, Trump up 2 percent since the last Cygnal poll in July and Kennedy down 4 percent.

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Meanwhile, Emerson College’s poll of 1,000 likely voters in Pennsylvania, conducted on August 13-14 for RealClearPennsylvania, also found Trump ahead by 1 point, with 49 percent of the vote compared to Harris’ 48 percent. When undecided voters leaning toward a candidate were factored in, Trump’s lead extended to 51 percent against Harris’ 49 percent. When Kennedy was included in the poll, Harris and Trump were tied at 47 percent, with the independent candidate capturing 3 percent.

Trump takes lead over Harris in national poll

Nationally, a Napolitan News Service survey by RMG Research, conducted between August 12-14 among 2,708 likely voters, showed Trump leading Harris by 1 point, with 46 percent of the vote compared to her 45 percent. When undecided voters leaning toward a candidate were included, Trump’s lead widened to 49 percent against Harris’ 47 percent. This represents a shift from the previous RMG poll, which had both candidates tied at 49 percent.

Harris had initially emerged as the Democrats’ presumptive nominee following President Joe Biden‘s announcement on July 21 that he would step down from the race and endorse her. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump,” Biden stated. This temporarily boosted Harris’s popularity in national polls.

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The Cygnal poll also gave mixed numbers to Democrats in the commonwealth’s upending race — sitting senator Bob Casey led his challenger Dave McCormick of Republicans 46-42 percent. But Casey fared worse than a ‘typical’ Democrat Senate nominee, losing 2 points among all the voters and 8 points among Democrats only.