Biden leads Trump in battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin: poll

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden led President Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in a poll released Sunday.

The CBS-YouGov poll found that Biden had a 6 percentage point lead over Trump in both states. In Pennsylvania, Biden received 49 percent to Trump’s 43 percent, while in Wisconsin, the former vice president earned 48 percent, compared with the president’s 42 percent.

Trump won both states in 2016, and they were considered key to his election.

A majority of voters in both states — 75 percent of Pennsylvanians and 76 percent of Wisconsinites — said they believe things in the U.S are going badly amid the pandemic and economic turmoil.

Voters in these battleground states believe Biden would better manage the pandemic by “significant margins,” according to CBS News. 

In both states, 47 percent of voters said the former vice president would better handle the coronavirus crisis, compared with 37 percent of voters in Pennsylvania and 32 percent of voters in Wisconsin who said the current president would do better. 

When it comes to the economy, Trump has an edge, as 46 percent of Pennsylvanian respondents and 47 percent of Wisconsinite respondents said he would better manage it. In Pennsylvania, 45 percent believe Biden would better manage the economy and in Wisconsin, 43 percent agree. 

About two-thirds of the participants in both states reported disliking how the president “handles himself personally.” 

About half of respondents considering or committed to voting for Biden said his vice presidential pick is very or somewhat important to the election. Seven out of 10 of those who are not voting for Biden as of now but said they would consider him said the running mate decision is important. 

CBS News noted that voters in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have changed their minds before, as Trump’s 2016 victory relied on voters who decided last minute and on wins in these states.  

The CBS-YouGov poll surveyed 1,009 registered voters in Wisconsin and 1,225 in Pennsylvania between Aug. 4 and Aug. 7. The poll recorded a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points among both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voters.