Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Biden 49, Trump 45

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump has shrunk a bit in Pennsylvania, according to the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll. 

49% of likely voters said they will be voting for Biden, while 45% of likely voters said they will be voting for Trump. Their poll released last week showed Biden leading by 7 points, 51%-to-44%, among likely voters in the Keystone State. 

Reuters-Ipsos also released polling from five other battleground states on Monday as well. Biden’s largest lead is in Michigan and Wisconsin where he leads Trump by 8 points, 51%-to-43%, in each state. Like Pennsylvania, Biden leads Trump by 4 points, 50%-to-46%, in Arizona. Biden holds a 2 point advantage over Trump in Florida, 49%-to-47%, and a 1 point lead over the president in North Carolina, 48%-to-47%. 

According to the analysts at FiveThirtyEight, Ipsos favors Democrats by an average of 0.4% and has an overall B- grade. 

Biden remains as the preferred candidate to handle the coronavirus pandemic, while Trump has the advantage on managing the economy in the Pennsylvania polling. 

49% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic, while 41% said that Trump would be better. 51% said Trump would be better at managing the economy, while 42% said Biden would be better handling the matter. 

15% polled from Pennsylvania said they already had voted.

Polling released in October has consistently shown Biden leading in the state, although the margin varies by the pollster. This latest poll is comparable to the Real Clear Politics average. 

A New York Times/Siena College poll of likely voters shows Biden carrying a 7 point lead over Trump, 49-to-42. A CBS poll conducted by YouGov released one day after the NYT/Siena College poll also shows Biden leading Trump by 7 points, 51-to-44, among likely voters. A Monmouth University shows the former VP leading the president by 12 points, 54-to-42, among registered voters in the state. A CNBC/Change Research poll released last Tuesday shows Biden carrying a 4 point lead, 50-to-46, among likely voters in the state. An Emerson College poll of likely voters showed Biden leading Trump by 5 points, 50-to-45, in the state. A Baldwin Wallace University Great Lakes poll released last Sunday, in partnership with Oakland University and Ohio Northern University, shows Biden leading Trump by just over 5 points, 49.6%-to-44.5%. A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden leading Trump by 7 points, 51-to-44, among likely voters in the state. A Morning Consult poll of likely voters in the state shows Biden leading Trump by 8 points, 52-to-44. 51% of likely voters in the state back Biden in the state, while 46% support Trump, according to The Hill/HarrisX polling released on Friday. 

Biden’s largest lead in October public polling comes from Quinnipiac University that shows the former VP leading the president by 13 points, 54-to-41, among likely voters in the state. Biden’s slimmest lead among recent public polling was from the Trafalgar Group that shows Biden leading Trump by just over 2 points, 47.4%-to-45.1%, among likely voters in the state.

Two GOP friendly polls released over the past week showed Biden leading in the state as well, but by a smaller margin. 

An Insider Advantage phone poll of likely voters commissioned by the Center for American Greatness, a conservative website, in the state shows Biden leading Trump by just over 3 points, 45.8%-to-42.6%. A Trafalgar Group poll commissioned by Restoration PAC, a conservative super PAC founded by Doug Traux, a one time GOP Senate hopeful in Illinois, showed Biden leading Trump by 1 point, 47.5%-to-46.4%, among likely voters in the state. 

The Real Clear Politics Average shows Biden besting Trump by 3.8 points in Pennsylvania.

This poll, surveying 1,001 adults, including 653 likely voters in Pennsylvania, collected data between Oct. 13-19, has a margin of error of +/-4%. 

The article from Reuters on the latest poll can be found here.