US Elections 2024: Trump leads Harris in swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina NYT poll shows

US Elections 2024: Donald Trump is ahead of Kamala Harris in three "battleground" or swing states ahead of the country's November 5 elections, Reuters reported citing a recent voter poll.

The poll showed Trump had an edge over Harris in some states just six weeks before the US elections on November 5. The seven swing states are key to winning the presidential bid.

The survey of likely voters in the US was conducted between September 17-21 amid the North Carolina governor's race and included the day that an apparent second assassination attempt was made against Trump in Florida (September 17).

Where is Trump Leading?

Trump, who is the Republican presidential nominee and former United States President, is leading opponent Harris, the Democratic nominee and US Vice President, in key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, as the New York Times/Siena College poll released on September 23, it added.

In Arizona, Trump is leading 50 per cent to 45 per cent against Harris; while in Georgia, he is ahead by 49 per cent to 45 per cent; and in North Carolina, he stands at 49 per cent to Harris' 47 per cent.

Notably, these polls have a margin of error of around (+/-) 4.4 percentage points in Arizona, where 713 voters were surveyed. In Georgia, the margin of error is (+/-) 4.6 points among 682 people interviewed; and in North Carolina, it is (+/-) 4.2 for 682 voters who were polled.

Trump's leads in these three states thus falls within the margin of error.

Harris leads Trump overall, but swing states locked

Earlier this week, the NBC News poll and CBS polls both showed voters in all seven battleground states were tied closely between Trump and Harris. A Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed a "tight matchup" between the opponents.

Harris is leading Trump by 49 per cent to 44 per cent in the NBC News poll conducted from September 13-17. While the CBS/Ipsos poll conducted from September 18-20, showed Harris leads Trump by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

The CBS/Ipsos poll it said had listed all seven swing states as "tossups", with Harris making it over the "majority" line but within the margin of error in five of these states. Further, both Trump and Harris are strongly pushing their campaigns in the swing states to mobilise voters, it added.

The Bloomberg report also noted that early voting has begun in many states before the official election scheduled on November 5. Among the states that have started the process include Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia, with others expected to begin in October.

(With inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg)