Harris, Trump tied ahead of presidential debate: poll

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris are effectively tied heading into the final weeks of the election, according to a US-wide poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College.

Trump is up one percentage point, 48 per cent to 47 per cent, over Harris, according to the survey of likely voters released on Sunday, a difference that is within the survey's three-point margin of error, meaning a win for either candidate in the November 5 election is within reach.

When looking at all registered voters in the poll, Harris is at 46 per cent and Trump at 48 per cent - also within the margin of error.

While the Trump campaign endured a relatively rocky stretch in the weeks after Democratic President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July, the most recent polling indicates the core of his support base is not going anywhere.

The poll notably showed that voters feel they need to learn more about Harris while their opinions on Trump are largely set.

NEW Siena/NYT Poll: Trump 48% - Harris 47% in New National Surveyhttps://t.co/E7U0rUkQxs#SienaPoll #NYT #NYTSienaPoll #National #USA #2024Election #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #ElectionTwitter pic.twitter.com/CnmUmcWLFV? SienaResearch (@SienaResearch) September 8, 2024

In the survey, 28 per cent of likely voters said they needed more information about the Democratic nominee while only 9 per cent said the same about Trump.

The poll indicates that a presidential debate hosted by US broadcaster ABC on Tuesday at 9pm (11am on Wednesday AEST) could be a crucial moment.

Harris will have the opportunity to give more detail of her planned policies as she spars with Trump over the course of 90 minutes.

The race is so close that even a marginal boost for either candidate would be significant.

Since Harris replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket over the northern hemisphere summer, she has hit the campaign trail hard but has limited her unscripted appearances and kept interviews with the news media to a minimum.

The key figures from the latest poll are similar to the last comparable New York Times/Siena College survey, released in late July.

In that poll, Trump was also up one percentage point, a difference well within the margin of error.

Polls in the seven key swing states likely to determine the winner of the election have also consistently shown a razor-thin race.

with DPA