Poll: Trump, Harris statistically tied in Georgia; Trump has advantage on issues that matter most to voters

By Dan McCaleb
and Thérèse Boudreaux 
The Center Square

Former President Donald Trump holds a slight, 49-48 advantage in a head-to-head matchup with Vice President Kamala Harris in new polling out of Georgia, which is within the poll's margin of error.

When third party candidates are included, the respective Republican and Democratic candidates for president are tied at 49% support each.

That's according to the latest American Greatness/TIPP poll of 813 likely voters in Georgia conducted Oct. 14-16. The poll's margin of error is +/- 3.5%. Of the 1,029 registered Georgia voters polled, 431 were from Atlanta or the surrounding suburbs.

Georgia is one of a few key swing states that could decide the outcome of the presidential race.

On the issues that voters say are most important to them ahead of the Nov. 5 election, the economy/inflation and border security, more Georgia voters trust Trump than Harris. On growing the economy, Trump holds a 48%-44% advantage over Harris. The former president has a similar four point advantage among Georgia voters on fixing inflation, 47% to 43%. On securing the border, Trump holds a sees a wider advantage, 56%-34%. 

"Trump has a strong advantage in Georgia on key issues," pollster Raghavan Mayur told The Center Square. "Georgia voters see Trump better for immigration than Harris, 56% to 34%, and for growing the economy, 48% to 44%."

On improving national security, Trump also has a significant advantage among voters, 51% to 39%. More voters trust Harris to cut taxes, 47% to 43%, than Trump.

When asked whose policies better help or hurt their families, Trump also has the edge.

"Georgians say Trump policies helped their families (51% help, 34% hurt) for a net of +17 help vs. Biden policies (36% helping, 49% hurting) for a net of +13 hurting," Mayur said.

Georgia voters also were asked about Gov. Brian Kemp's and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's handling of recent hurricanes, and news that FEMA spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the migrant crisis.

"58% of Georgians give Governor Kemp's handling of Hurricane Helene's aftermath good grades, compared to only 39% for the Biden-Harris administration," Mayur said. "Fully 54% disapprove of FEMA's reallocation of $650 million to support migrants, leaving less money available for hurricane relief efforts. Also, 61% of Republicans think that the media deliberately reported less on Hurricane Helene's damage because many of the victims are rural whites [and] considered conservatives or Trump supporters."

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Michigan leaning toward Trump, polling averages show

Polling averages in Michigan have shifted in former President Donald Trump’s favor over the past three weeks, but more than 1 million voters in the state have already cast an absentee ballot as of Monday.

As one of the most competitive swing states in the General Election, Vice President Kamala Harris maintained a roughly 2 percentage point lead over Trump in Michigan from early August to Sept. 26, the day absentee voting began in the state.

But beginning on that day, the race began to tighten, with daily polling averages showing her lead never reached above 1.7 percentage points and began dropping even further by the week.

The numbers are sourced from RealClearPolling and the newly launched Michigan Voting Dashboard, which pulls information from the state’s Qualified Voter File to track how many residents have voted across the state.

Trump began pulling ahead of Harris on Oct. 9 and has gained traction since then. As of October 19, the most recent polling averages in the state show Trump leads Harris by 1.2 percentage points.

Today is the last day Michiganders can register to vote online or by mail; starting Oct. 22, they must register in person at their local city or township clerk office. 

There are more than 8.44 million registered voters in Michigan; with 1.02 million having cast a ballot as of Monday, 14.2% of active registered voters have already made their choice.
 
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