Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off in their first presidential debate at 11am AEST today, as polls show the two candidates are in a tight race.
The debate comes amid recent opinion polls showing Harris and Trump are neck and neck among voters.
With the U.S. election less than two months away – set for 5 November – here’s where things stand.
Trends
A recent national poll by The New York Times and Siena College showed Trump leading Harris by 1 point. This poll shows Trump with a 13-point lead among voters on handling of the economy, while Harris has a 15-point lead on abortion.
However, other national polls show Harris is slightly ahead. Online polling aggregator, FiveThirtyEight, averages out polling data collected by multiple companies.
The polls show that Kamala Harris currently has an average lead of 2.8% over Donald Trump.
Swing states
The ‘swing states’ will be crucial to deciding who the next President will be. These are states that have switched between voting Republican and Democrat at recent elections. They include:
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Pennsylvania
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- Nevada
- Arizona
The polls show similarly very close races in each of these swing states.
Debate
Harris and Trump will face off in their first Presidential debate this morning (11am AEST).
The debate, hosted by U.S. ABC News, is expected to focus on the economy, immigration, and abortion rights.
The last debate, which featured Joe Biden, was held in June.
Biden’s performance sparked discussion about his fitness to serve another term as President, ultimately leading to him dropping out of the race.
