A poll released Sunday found former President Donald Trump continues to hold a slim lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in the wake of their debate last week.
The poll found Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) with a comparable lead over former newswoman Kari Lake in Arizona’s race for the U.S. Senate, after a Democratic strategist called the race “essential” for the party to retain its senate majority.
In a survey conducted in the two days following the September 10 debate between Trump and Harris, the Trafalgar Group found 47.1 percent of likely voters in Arizona support Trump, while 45.5 percent support Harris, suggesting the former president is ahead by less than 2 percent.
Trump’s lead over Harris remains within the pollsters’ 2.9 percent margin of error, and an additional 2.9 percent told pollsters they plan to vote for another candidate, while 4.5 percent remain undecided.
The survey was largely reflective of Trump’s position in the RealClearPolling aggregate of surveys, which shows the former president 1.3 percent ahead of the vice president.
While Trump was the narrow winner of the Trafalgar Group’s presidential survey, the results were nearly inverted for the Senate race between Gallego and Lake, as 47.2 percent said they planned to vote for the Democrat, while to 43 percent told pollsters they intend to vote for Lake, giving the Democrat a 4.2 percent lead.
There seemed to be greater uncertainty among the electorate when it came to Gallego and Lake, however, as 4.4 percent said they plan to vote for another candidate and 5.4 percent said they remain undecided.
The new survey is consistent with other recent surveys tracked by RealClearPolling, which shows Gallego leading Lake by 4.5 percent in its aggregate of polls.
It was released shortly after U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), said it was “essential” for Gallego to win in order for Democrats to keep their majority in the Senate.
“We don’t hold the majority if we lose Arizona,” Peters reportedly told Cronkite News, as a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) called Arizona “one of the top pick-up opportunities for Republicans this cycle.”
There are currently 47 Democrats and 49 Republicans in the U.S. Senate, but the Democrats narrowly retain control with four senators who are not affiliated with a political party but nonetheless caucus with the Democrats, including outgoing U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake with Donald Trump” by Kari Lake.
