U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is leading Republican former President Donald Trump by four points in three crucial

battleground states—Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan—according to recent polls conducted by the New York Times and Siena College.

The polls, conducted from August 5-9, reveal that Harris holds a 50% to 46% advantage over Trump among likely voters in these states. The margin of error is 4.8 percentage points in Michigan, 4.2 points in Pennsylvania, and 4.3 points in Wisconsin. A total of 1,973 likely voters were surveyed across these states.

Harris assumed the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid on July 21, following a poor debate performance against Trump in late June. Harris' entry into the race has revitalized a campaign that had been struggling, particularly as doubts grew among Democrats about Biden’s ability to defeat Trump or govern effectively if re-elected.

The Biden administration faced significant criticism, particularly in Michigan, from liberal, Muslim-American, and Arab-American groups over U.S. support for Israel's actions in Gaza. This policy stance led to large protests and widespread opposition, with around 200,000 voters in the three states expressing dissatisfaction with Biden’s approach during the Democratic primaries.

Harris has responded with strong public statements on Palestinian human rights, signaling a tonal shift, although her policy positions on Gaza remain aligned with Biden’s. Her candidacy has reshaped the race, with Trump’s earlier lead over Biden in battleground states now reversed.

An additional Ipsos poll released on Thursday shows Harris leading Trump nationally by a margin of 42% to 37%. This nationwide poll, conducted online from August 2-7 among 2,045 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of approximately 3 percentage points. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.