President Donald Trump and Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden are neck-and-neck in the crucial battleground state of Florida just two months before the election, according to the latest survey from NBC News and Marist Poll.
The poll found that Biden and Trump evenly split likely voters, while Trump just pulls ahead among all registered voters.
- 48% of likely voters support Trump.
- 48% of likely voters back Biden.
- 48% of all voters support Trump.
- 47% of all voters back Biden.
Voters also rate Trump better at handling the economy, while Biden takes the lead on the coronavirus and race relations.
“It’s not unusual for Florida to be this close,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
NBC notes that Trump won Florida by about 1 percentage point in 2016, and Miringoff said that winning the state is vital to the president’s reelection.
“If Trump loses Florida, it’s game over. If Trump wins, the story of the night will still have to be told,” he said, noting that Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin would then swing the election.
Marist polled 1,047 registered voters and 766 likely voters from Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, with a margin of error of +/-3.9 percentage points for all voters and +/-4.5 percentage points for likely voters.