Poll finds Trump ahead of Biden in 15 battleground states

A poll conducted by SSRS of 15 battleground states found former Vice President Joe Biden trailing President Trump.

The same poll, conducted for CNN, found Biden ahead of Trump nationally, but losing in the 15 states that might decide the vote in the Electoral College.

The poll did not include different surveys of each of the 15 states, but surveyed 583 people across 15 states that were decided by 8 points or fewer in 2016. The margin for the battleground states alone was 5.3 points.

The 15 states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Trump lead Biden in the poll across those states 52 percent to 45 percent.

Nationally, the poll found Biden leads Trump 51 percent to 46 percent.

The poll was conducted May 7-10 among a random national sample of 1,112 adults, including 1,001 registered voters. The full nationwide survey had a margin of error of 3.7 points.

The poll found Trump with a slight edge among independents, at 50 percent to 46 percent. It found Biden leads 55 percent to 41 percent among women and 69 percent to 26 percent among people of color, while Trump leads with white people 55 percent to 43 percent. 

Trump won 50 percent support from men compared with 46 percent for Biden.

The survey found the former vice president leading among voters 45 and older by 6 points, but neck and neck among voters under 45, with 49 percent supporting Biden and 46 percent supporting Trump. Biden also leads Trump among voters 65 and older.

Voters said they trust Trump over Biden to handle the economy, 54 percent to 42 percent. Biden, however, is more trusted to handle both the response to the coronavirus outbreak, 51 percent to 45 percent, and health care in general, 54 percent to 42 percent.

The survey found 55 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, compared with 46 percent for Biden. Among the 14 percent of respondents who view both candidates unfavorably, Biden leads 71 percent to 19 percent.