Harris takes narrow lead over Trump in New York Times poll as intense media campaign continues – US politics live

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Harris takes narrow lead in NY Times poll over Trump as she embarks on media blitz

Good morning, US politics readers.

The Democratic US vice-president, Kamala Harris, has taken a narrow national lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the race for the White House, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, conducted between 29 September and 6 October.

It is the first time Harris led Trump in the Times/Siena poll since July, when Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the presidential race and urged fellow Democrats to support Harris after his disastrous debate performance against Trump on 27 June.

The poll – which surveyed 3,385 likely voters – shows Harris leading Trump by 49% to 46%. In mid-September, after the presidential debate between the two, which Harris was viewed by many to have won, the two candidates were both at 47%.

Here are some other main takeaways from the latest New York Times/Siena College poll:

• Harris has gained support from Republican voters – 9% said this time round they would support her, an increase from 5% last month.

• 46% of respondents said Harris, 59, represented change this election, compared to 44% for Trump, 78.

• 61% of non-white voters see Harris as the change candidate, while 29% view Trump this way.

• Trump was still viewed by more people as a “strong leader”, though this was by a small amount.

• Trump is leading among male voters by 11 points. 42% of voters surveyed said they personally benefited from Trump’s policies, when he was president between 2016 and 2020, compared to Biden’s policies.

• Respondents trusted Trump more than Harris to manage the economy, which 75% of the likely voters described as in a “fair or poor condition”, the same as last month.

• The percentage of voters holding favorable or unfavorable views of Trump and Harris has not changed since September.

The margin of sampling error among likely voters in the poll was plus or minus 2.4 points for the national poll and about plus or minus five points for each state poll.

Kamala Harris shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during the presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 10 September, 2024. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Despite Harris edging Trump in some polls, the race is essentially deadlocked, both nationally and in so-called battleground states. The victory on November 5 will be decided by the slimmest of margins. In order to appeal to voters in the critical swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), Harris has embarked on a week-long media blitz, appearing largely in front of politically sympathetic interviewers.

Harris has already talked to the CBS News show 60 Minutes, along with the popular podcast Call Her Daddy. In the CBS News interview, Harris was pressed on issues including the Middle East, Ukraine, gun ownership and immigration. Trump was invited on the programme too, but declined to participate in it.

As Ed Pilkington, Guardian US’ chief reporter, notes in this story, on Tuesday Harris hits New York for appearances on ABC News’s daytime behemoth The View and the Howard Stern Show, followed by a recording with the late-night host Stephen Colbert. We will bring you all the latest news from these media appearances as they happen.