Harris and Trump locked in close races in Arizona and Nevada as pool of persuadable voters shrinks

USA – In the critical Southwest battlegrounds of Arizona and Nevada, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump run near even in the race for the White House, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS. The findings come as large numbers of voters report having already cast ballots and the pool of those open to changing their mind shrinks.

Harris holds 48% support among likely voters in Arizona, according to the poll, to 47% for Trump. In Nevada, 48% of likely voters support Trump and 47% back Harris. Those 1-point margins fall within each poll’s margin of sampling error, finding no clear leader in either state.

The surveys find voters’ views largely set on who would better handle top issues, while on a range of key attributes, neither candidate has convinced a critical mass of voters that they’re the better choice. Voters in both states have at best a narrow preference for which candidate cares more about people like them, shares their vision of the country or would put the country’s interests above their own self-interest.

The Nevada poll suggests little change in the state of the race there since late August, but in Arizona, the new results point to a shift in Harris’ favor. The new poll finds Harris improving there with core Democratic constituencies such as women, Latino voters and younger voters. The shift is notably concentrated among women, who now break for Harris by 16 points, while men continue to favor Trump by a 14-point margin.

Hispanic likely voters in Nevada split about evenly between Harris and Trump (48% support Harris, 47% Trump). Harris does hold a wide lead there among voters younger than 35, though: 53% support her versus 39% for Trump. Independent voters in both states split roughly evenly between Harris and Trump. In Arizona, 45% support Trump to 43% for Harris, a 6-point improvement in support for the vice president since August. In Nevada, independent likely voters divide 46% Harris to 43% Trump, about the same as in August.(CNN)…[+]