New polls show Biden in a strong position in Pennsylvania as 2020 campaign nears its end
The consistency of the poll numbers show a difficult path for Trump to win a state critical to his reelection chances.
Joe Biden is in a strong position to win Pennsylvania heading into the final hours of the presidential campaign, according to three new polls.
Biden leads President Donald Trump 51% to 44% in Pennsylvania, according to a Washington Post-ABC News survey released Sunday, while a New York Times/Siena College survey found a similar 49% to 43% edge for the Democrat.
And the Monmouth University Polling Institute found Biden leading 51% to 44% in a high-turnout scenario, while he has a smaller 50% Biden to 45% edge in a low turnout scenario — likely one in which a large number of mail ballots are rejected. Most analysts expect huge turnout in this election, projections which have been backed up by surges in early voting.
Those three polls are consistent with weeks of major surveys finding Biden steadily ahead by about 5 to 8 percentage points in the state. Biden led 49% to 44% in a Muhlenberg College poll released Saturday, within that survey’s margin of error.
Biden’s lead in the Monmouth survey is smaller than its poll last month, which was conducted after the first presidential debate. But most polls have shown little movement. Opinions on Trump appear fixed.
The consistency of the poll numbers, including support for the president stuck in the low to mid-40s, suggests a difficult path for Trump in a state that he knows is critical.
» READ MORE: How Biden’s lead is different from Clinton’s — and why the polls are different this time
A Trump victory in Pennsylvania would likely depend on polls drastically undercounting his support, or problems with voting — such as mail ballots returned as “naked ballots” with missing inner secrecy envelopes, or litigation to dismiss a large share of ballots after Election Day.
Trump backers dismiss the polls, arguing that they don’t capture the enthusiasm of his supporters and were wrong in the last presidential race.
The polls come amid final blitzes focused heavily on Pennsylvania. Trump held four rallies in the state Saturday while Biden had two events in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Both plan to be back in Pennsylvania on Monday.
The Monmouth poll surveyed 502 Pennsylvania registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The Times/Siena poll surveyed 1,862 likely Pennsylvania voters and has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points. The Post/ABC survey polled 810 likely voters in Pennsylvania and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.