Former vice president Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency of the United States in a series of new presidential polls released over the past few days, continuing a trend made apparent in polls taken earlier this month.
Three new polls show Biden beating Trump in the key battleground states Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania Trump must win to secure re-election. The latest Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters found Biden ahead of Trump 46% to 42%. Florida is the largest battleground or swing state that could go either way on November 3. It accounts for 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Historically, Florida has almost always delivered close statewide elections, with key contests often decided by narrow margins.
Biden holds a significant lead among voters age 65 and older, the demographic most likely to actually turn out and vote. He leads Trump 52% to 44% in this cohort. In 2016, Trump won 49% of Florida's vote to Hillary Clinton's 47.8%.
Even polls by Fox News, Trump's favorite TV station, are bad news for him. A Fox News Poll of Pennsylvania sees Biden ahead by 50% to 42%. Trump leads by 18 points among rural whites (which was expected) and by 15 points among whites without a college education. Rural whites and whites without a college education form the core of Trump's supporters.
Biden, however, has been traditionally strong among women and the Pennsylvania poll proved this big time. Biden held a 21 point lead over Trump among women, a 30 point lead among suburban women and a 24 point lead among Millennials.
Voters very interested in the election pick Biden over Trump by 10 points. The poll shows 49% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans are extremely interested. Biden has a net positive favorable rating by 9 points (52 favorable, 43 unfavorable). On the other hand, Trump is underwater by 9 points (44 favorable, 53 unfavorable).
Forty-five percent of respondents have a "strongly" negative opinion of Trump. Only 30% say the same for Biden. An interesting finding is 13% of voters that approve of Trump's job performance won't vote for him on November 3. Seven percent of this total said they'd vote for Biden instead.
"This segment of voters who approve of the job Trump is doing but don't currently back him against Biden is interesting," noted Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, whose firm conducted the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw.
"If voters approve of his leadership style but are questioning if it is right for the future, holding onto Pennsylvania will be challenging for Trump. But if they like Trump personally and will line back up behind him in November, the race could be very close."
A Fox News Poll of Michigan found Biden ahead 49% to 41% with Trump again trailing by 18 points in favorability. An Ipsos Public Opinion poll conducted April 15 to 20 for Reuters also found Biden ahead of Trump in Michigan, 46% to 38%.
