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CNN’s King Says Trump Leading Harris On ‘Key Issues’ In Battleground States

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


CNN’s John King explained why Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be falling behind former President Donald Trump in many of the key battleground states during a network segment on Tuesday.

King outlined how the majority of voters continue to view Trump as being the best on the economy, which has remained the main concern throughout the current election cycle, as has been the case throughout his campaign even when President Joe Biden was still in the running.

“The economy is the number one issue in all three states, not by huge margins, but 26%, 28%, 25%, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina. Immigration second in Arizona, abortion, third…immigration and abortion kind of trade almost in a tie for second and third when it comes to the other battleground states,” King began.

“So the issues economy and immigration, we know there are Trump’s issues and abortion is a Harris issue. So voters were asked in this poll who‘s … what candidate best represents you on your issue? So it could be the economy for many voters, it might be something else, just generically who is the candidate you trust on your top issue?” he continued.

“And look at this… On just the generic top issue question it‘s narrow, but Trump leads in all three states, right? So people are saying, ‘I‘m with him, he‘s best for me on my top issue.'” King noted further.

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“Here‘s what‘s even more damning. We know issue number one is the economy, and just look at this, and we‘ve seen this again; this is only one poll. Don‘t overinvest in any one poll, but we have seen this data in other polls,” King said. “This is a constant problem for the vice president — who‘s best on the economy?

“Trump by 14 points, leads in Arizona, Trump by 12 points, leads in Georgia, Trump by 13 points, leads in North Carolina. It‘s the top issue, and Trump has a huge edge. That‘s a problem for the vice president,” the correspondent added.

WATCH:

New polling by The New York Times and Siena College is good news for Trump and is another indication that the early “enthusiasm gap” Harris once enjoyed has faded.

According to the polling, Trump now leads Harris by five points in Arizona, 50-45 percent, as well as Georgia (49-45 percent) and North Carolina (49-47 percent).

“The polls of these three states, taken from Sept. 17 to 21, presented further evidence that in a sharply divided nation, the presidential contest is shaping up to be one of the tightest in history,” the Times noted, citing the polling data.

As CNN’s King reported, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina are among the seven key battleground states where both the Trump and Harris campaigns have concentrated their efforts since Labor Day. Harris has demonstrated notable strength in several crucial Midwestern states, with Pennsylvania being particularly critical to her presidential aspirations, the outlet reported.

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Arizona, a state Biden narrowly won by just over 10,400 votes in 2020, now poses a significant challenge for the Harris campaign. An August Times/Siena poll found Harris leading by five percentage points, but Latino voters appear to be shifting away from her. Notably, 10 percent of Latino voters remain undecided, however.

Trump is also benefiting from ticket splitting: while Harris lags behind, the Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona, Rep. Reuben Gallego, is currently leading GOP nominee Kari Lake.

“The polls found that voters in this part of the country were worried about their own future and the future of the nation,” the Times noted.

“Whatever road we’re on right now just, to me, does not look like it’s going to end well,” said Tyler Stembridge, 41, a fire captain in Centerville, Ga., who is a Republican. He voted for Trump in 2020 and intends to do so again, he told the outlet.

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