Presidential race narrows to two points in Texas and Florida

Former vice president Biden at a rally in Texas early in 2020
Former vice president Biden at a rally in Texas early in 2020

Texas has joined Florida in the ranks of the battleground states in the 2020 election, according to the latest polling.

Results of the latest CBS News/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll, released on Sunday, show the race tightening to just two percentage points in both states.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden is ahead in Florida where he leads president Donald Trump 48:46 percentage points. The situation is reversed in Texas, where the president leads Biden 47:45 percentage points — making the race much closer than might have been expected.

No Democratic presidential candidate has won Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976. The party has long dreamed of the state turning from deep red to purple through demographic shifts centred around growth in the larger urban areas, migration from coastal states, and changing racial composition.

The polls were conducted between 15-18 September in both states, with 1,220 registered voters surveyed in Florida, and 1,161 in Texas.

Both of the candidate’s leads are within the margins of error of the polls — 3.7 points in Florida and 3.5 points in Texas.

President Trump will visit three key states this week to rally supporters. Events are planned in Ohio and Florida, and two in Pennsylvania, which Republicans are setting as a major priority despite Biden’s ties to the state.

The latest polling out of Pennsylvania, conducted by the Trafalgar Group, has Biden ahead by two points (47:45), but the rolling average for the state has him leading by four points.

In North Carolina an Emerson poll released on Monday has Biden ahead by one point (50:49).

Nationally, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Sunday, Biden has maintained his lead of eight points over the president (51:43). The RealClear Politics national rolling average has Biden ahead by 6.5 points.

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