Joe Biden’s lead over Donald Trump stands at five points nationally, but the president has an edge in the all-important key battleground states that could decide the Electoral College, according to a new CNN poll out Wednesday.
The survey shows that 51 percent of registered voters nationwide back the former veep, while 46 percent like Trump.
But in the battleground states, 52 percent favor Trump compared to 45 percent who choose Biden.
The poll, conducted with the research firm SSRS, defined battlegrounds as the 15 states decided by 8 points or less in 2016: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The poll also shows that both Democrats and Republicans are firmly dug in behind their candidates, with 95 percent of Democrats backing Biden and the same percentage of Republicans behind Trump.
Biden also had a solid lead among women, 55 percent to Trump’s 41 percent, and minorities, 69 percent for Biden to 26 percent for Trump.
But the president had a large lead among whites, 55 percent to 43 percent for Biden.
The survey had Biden beating Trump among voters over age 45 by a 6-point margin, while the two were about even among those under age 45, with 49 percent for Biden and 46 percent for Trump.
Trump’s biggest advantage over Biden in the poll was on his handling of the economy — despite soaring unemployment and a roller-coaster stock market resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
A majority of voters, 54 percent, said they trusted the president to do a better job handling the economy, while 42 percent said Biden would do better.
But Biden was viewed as more trusted to manage the response to the coronavirus outbreak, 51 percent to 45 percent, and health care, 54 percent to 42 percent for Trump, CNN reported.
A majority of Americans, 55 percent, also said they had an unfavorable view of the president while fewer, 46 percent, had negative views about Biden.
The CNN/SSRS Poll was conducted May 7-10 among a random national sample of 1,112 adults, including 583 voters in battleground states, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.