U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump are tied in the race to win the November presidential election, as Trump fights criminal prosecution and Biden weathers criticism over his support for Israel’s war against Hamas militants, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Some 40% of registered voters in the eight-day poll, which closed on Tuesday, said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, with the same share picking former President Trump. The dead heat was little changed from a 1 point lead that Biden held in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 29-30.
The survey had a roughly 2 percentage point margin of error for registered voters and many voters remain on the fence with about six months left before the Nov. 5 election.
Some 20% of registered voters in the poll said they had not picked a candidate, were leaning toward third-party options or might not vote at all.
The poll found 13% of respondents would pick Robert Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist running as an independent, if he were on the ballot with Trump and Biden. The prior poll conducted in April showed Kennedy with 8% support.
While nationwide surveys give important signals on American support for political candidates, just a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the U.S. electoral college, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.
