Voters in Pennsylvania have moved slightly toward President Donald Trump in one of the final surveys of the battleground state released Wednesday.
Trump switched places with Vice President Kamala Harris in the last Quinnipiac University poll of the cycle. He leads Harris, 47-46, in the survey of likely voters. The margin of error was 2.1 points.
In mid-October, those numbers were reversed.
The Keystone State, with its 19 Electoral College votes, remains a toss up less than a week before Election Day.
When split by gender, Trump garnered 57 percent support from men, while 55 percent of women said they would vote for Harris.
“The gender gap widens with Trump increasing his lead among men, as what remains a very tight race heads into the final stretch,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a press release.
Left: Supporters cheer for Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at The PPL Center on October 29, 2024 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Right: Supporters of US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris attend a Get Out the Vote rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on October 30, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla/ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Newsweek reached out to both campaigns via email for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Quinnipaic’s survey showed voters split over whether Trump or Harris would do a better job on specific issues, including a 52 to 43 percent split in favor of Trump when it comes to addressing the conflict in the Middle East.
Pennsylvanians surveyed also said Trump was stronger on the economy and immigration, while Harris was more likely to preserve democracy and would better handle abortion.
Both candidates had similar unfavorability ratings of 49 percent, while more voters felt Harris was honest, at 45 percent compared to 41 percent for Trump.
Voters did appear to agree on one particular issue, the poll found.
“A deeply divided country finds common ground. More than half of likely voters say November 5, 2024 will mark an unmatched milestone, the most consequential Election Day they have experienced,” Malloy said.
Pennsylvania has been a key battleground throughout the campaign, with both candidates holding multiple rallies in an effort to attract voters in both the Democrat-leaning areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburg, as well as rural regions like Erie County.
The state has voted for the overall winner in 48 out of 59 of the last elections. While President Joe Biden won the state last election, Trump carried it in 2016.
For Harris, Pennsylvania is critical to her “Blue Wall” strategy; in combination with the other swing states in the region, Michigan and Wisconsin, Pennsylvania gives her exactly 270 Electoral College votes once added to Nebraska’s second district and assuming no surprises with other blue states.
Trump, on the other hand, needs to siphon off at least one of those Midwestern states, and Pennsylvania seems like the most likely one to flip. With a higher proportion of white voters without a college degree, the state is more conducive to Trump than Michigan or Wisconsin.
The Quinnipiac poll was conducted with 2,186 likely voters in Pennsylvania between October 24 and 28.
