Biden’s lead slips to 11 points in national poll

Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s (D) national lead over President Trump has slipped since earlier this month, and now sits at 11 points, according to a new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters found Biden leading Trump, 53 percent to 42 percent. Biden held a 14-point lead over Trump, 53 percent to 39 percent, in the previous NBC-Wall Street Journal poll, which was published on Oct. 4 after the candidates’ first contentious debate.

Biden now holds impressive leads among major demographic groups, including a 91 percent to 4 percent advantage among Black voters and a 62 percent to 26 percent edge among Hispanics. He also holds a strong lead among independent voters, who support him by a 46 percent to 39 percent margin in the poll.

Another troubling sign for Trump in the poll is voters’ perception of the president’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Just 41 percent say he has done a good job, an increase of 1 percentage point since the last NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. In addition, 46 percent of respondents said Trump’s actions in response to COVID-19 could hurt the overall health of the country.

Half of voters also told pollsters that they are better off than they were four years ago. Fewer are optimistic about the state of the country in general, however, with 58 percent now saying the country is worse off than it was before Trump took office.

NBC/Wall Street Journal’s poll was conducted between Oct. 9-12, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.