Modest improvements for Trump in Sun Belt while contest stays close, according to recent polls
According to polls conducted by the New York Times/Siena College, Donald Trump holds narrow advantages over Kamala Harris in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.
TroibNews 
Donald Trump is gaining a slight advantage over Kamala Harris in three key Sun Belt states, based on new polling released by the New York Times/Siena College on Monday.
In Arizona, Trump leads Harris by 5 percentage points, with 50 percent to her 45 percent, and he has a 4-point lead in Georgia. Both margins, however, fall within the sampling error range. North Carolina is highly competitive, with Trump at 49 percent and Harris at 47 percent.
These findings mark a reversal from the Times/Siena polling conducted in August, which had Harris slightly ahead by similar margins in Arizona and North Carolina, while Trump maintained his lead in Georgia. Notably, polling averages were even tighter on Labor Day across all three states.
Harris is performing better than President Joe Biden did in May, when Trump led Biden by margins of 8 and 9 percentage points in Georgia and Arizona, respectively. The earlier poll did not cover North Carolina.
Despite Trump’s modest uptick in popularity, this trend does not appear to have benefited Republicans down the ballot. In the Arizona Senate race, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego holds a 6-point lead over Republican Kari Lake. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein leads Republican Mark Robinson by 10 points, at 47 percent to 37 percent. This poll was primarily conducted before the public revelations regarding Robinson’s alleged inappropriate comments on a pornographic website, which he denies.
The New York Times/Siena College surveys took place from September 17-21, polling 713 voters in Arizona, 682 voters in Georgia, and 682 voters in North Carolina. The polls have margins of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points in Arizona, plus or minus 4.6 percentage points in Georgia, and plus or minus 4.2 percentage points in North Carolina.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
In Arizona, Trump leads Harris by 5 percentage points, with 50 percent to her 45 percent, and he has a 4-point lead in Georgia. Both margins, however, fall within the sampling error range. North Carolina is highly competitive, with Trump at 49 percent and Harris at 47 percent.
These findings mark a reversal from the Times/Siena polling conducted in August, which had Harris slightly ahead by similar margins in Arizona and North Carolina, while Trump maintained his lead in Georgia. Notably, polling averages were even tighter on Labor Day across all three states.
Harris is performing better than President Joe Biden did in May, when Trump led Biden by margins of 8 and 9 percentage points in Georgia and Arizona, respectively. The earlier poll did not cover North Carolina.
Despite Trump’s modest uptick in popularity, this trend does not appear to have benefited Republicans down the ballot. In the Arizona Senate race, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego holds a 6-point lead over Republican Kari Lake. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein leads Republican Mark Robinson by 10 points, at 47 percent to 37 percent. This poll was primarily conducted before the public revelations regarding Robinson’s alleged inappropriate comments on a pornographic website, which he denies.
The New York Times/Siena College surveys took place from September 17-21, polling 713 voters in Arizona, 682 voters in Georgia, and 682 voters in North Carolina. The polls have margins of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points in Arizona, plus or minus 4.6 percentage points in Georgia, and plus or minus 4.2 percentage points in North Carolina.
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
