Biden leads Trump in 5 of 6 battleground states: poll

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is leading President Trump in five of six battleground states, according to a new poll released Wednesday. 

Biden leads Trump by 6 points in Florida, 50 to 44 percent, and the former vice president leads by 5 points in Michigan, 48 to 43 percent, according to the “States of Play” survey from CNBC and Change Research. Biden is also up by 4 points in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 48 to 44 percent and 47 to 43 percent, respectively. 

The former vice president’s lead is slimmer in Arizona, where he is ahead of Trump, 45 to 44 percent.

Trump, meanwhile, holds a narrow lead over Biden in North Carolina, 48 to 47 percent. 

The same survey showed Biden holding a 6-point advantage over Trump at the national level, 50 to 44 percent. 

The poll also showed voters reacting negatively to Trump’s performance in the Oval Office, in particular, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.  Forty-six percent of voters said they approved of Trump’s job performance, while only 44 percent approve of his handling of the pandemic. 

The findings are the latest in a slew of polls to show Biden leading Trump in states the president won in 2016, raising alarm bells for the president’s reelection campaign. The Trump campaign has honed in on a number of swing states, launching bus tours, releasing ads, and having the president travel to the states in hopes of boosting his chances in November. 

The CNBC and Change Research “State of Play” survey was conducted Aug. 7-9 in Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin among 2,701 likely general election voters. The margin of error is 1.89 percentage points. 

The RealClearPolitics polling average showed Biden ahead of Trump by 6.9 points nationally on Wednesday.