President Trump is closing in on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania after picking up support in the past month, according to a new poll.
The Monmouth University poll found Biden ahead by 4 points among registered voters, with 49 percent support. “Among likely voters, the race is a tight 1 to 3 points, depending on the expected turnout level,” according to a press release.
The poll was conducted Aug. 28-31 and may reflect a bump from the Republican National Convention. The margin of error is 4.9 points, making the race a statistical tie — welcome news to Republicans, who along with pollsters suspect Trump has “secret” supporters who won’t publicly back him but will turn out on Election Day.
Trump’s boost was driven by rising support among men, voters under 50 and suburban residents.
In mid-July, Monmouth University found Biden was leading Trump in Pennsylvania by a wide margin, 53 percent to 40 percent, among registered voters.
The new poll found stable partisan congressional preference among respondents. The percent favoring Republicans held steady at 45 percent, with Democratic congressional candidate preference dropping a single point to 48 percent.
Other recent polls in Pennsylvania found a narrow race with Biden leading.
In 2016, Trump narrowly flipped Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in a shocking upset. Unless he can flip a state won by Clinton, Trump must win at least one of the three traditionally Democratic Rust Belt states and retain other swing states like Arizona and Florida, where some polls show him losing.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pa., but Trump often points out he moved to Delaware as a child. The president often visits the state, and during last month’s Democratic convention, Trump gave a speech knocking Biden outside his former hometown.
The former vice president, who rarely travels due to the coronavirus pandemic, visited Pittsburgh on Monday for a speech denouncing Trump’s handling of anti-police brutality protests.
