Poll: Biden builds bigger lead nationally

A new poll finds Democratic nominee Joe Biden leading President Trump by 8 points nationally, doubling his advantage over the same poll from last month as Election Day nears.

The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris survey of likely voters finds Biden at 54 percent and Trump at 46 percent, with 57 percent of independents breaking for the Democratic nominee. The same poll from last month found Biden ahead 52-48. Eighty-six percent of voters say they’ve made up their minds.

Tens of millions of people have already voted and fewer than one in three say they intend to vote on Election Day.

“The final preelection polls suggest Joe Biden goes into the last week with significant advantages, especially among the mail in voters and is likely to win based on these polls,” said Harvard CAPS-Harris polling director Mark Penn. “[Trump] would need a massive turnout on Election Day to overcome those advance ballots.”

The president’s approval rating is holding steady in the mid-40s, with 46 percent approving and 54 percent saying they disapprove.

Overall, 59 percent of voters say they dislike Trump personally, while 47 percent say they like Biden and only 38 percent say they dislike him.

Sixty-one percent of voters say the country is on the wrong track.

The coronavirus is by far the top issue on the minds of voters.

Only 41 percent approve of the job Trump is doing on the pandemic, down 6 points from a few weeks ago as the nation endures a surge in cases.

Fifty-six percent of voters say Biden is better equipped to handle the pandemic.

“The main problem the president faces is declining ratings on handling the virus which dropped from 47 to 41,” Penn said. “That is driving health conscious seniors away from the president. This, combined with his suburban problem, puts significant barriers in front of President Trump.”

The economy remains the president’s best issue, with 55 percent approving of the job he’s doing stimulating jobs and 52 percent approving of his handling of the economy overall. Trump leads Biden 53-47 on the economy, although 57 percent of voters say the economy is on the wrong track.

Biden leads on every other major issue, besting Trump on bringing the country together, race and policing, law and order, and China.

Fifty-four percent say Biden won the final debate but 66 percent said the debate did not do anything to change their minds.

The president has sought to make an issue out of Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, but 57 percent say the allegations are not important to them, including two-thirds of independents.

A slim majority, 51 percent, believe the discovery of Hunter Biden’s laptop at a pawn shop is Russian disinformation, although there is no evidence for that.

But 60 percent of voters oppose Twitter’s move to block people from sharing the New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

“A majority believe the Hunter Biden story is Russian disinformation,” Penn said. “And although most think it should be investigated further, the allegations are playing no role today in affecting the outcome. Most opposed the actions of social media to censor the story.”

The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll of 2,093 registered voters was conducted between Oct. 27 and 28. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and The Harris Poll.

The Hill will be working with Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll throughout 2020. Full poll results will be posted online later this week. The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. As a representative online sample, it does not report a probability confidence interval.