New polling in the Grand Canyon State shows Donald Trump making major gains with a historically Democratic constituency, driving one of his biggest leads in any swing state.
The Suffolk University/USA Today survey conducted Sept. 21 to 24 finds the Republican nominee up 6 points against Kamala Harris.
And black voters are contributing to that 48% to 42% lead for the former president, with 29% of them backing Trump in this survey over the vice president, who has 67% support among the group.
This black support, if it manifests, would fulfill a Trump campaign goal to especially turn out black male voters. A previous USA Today poll of Michigan suggests it may not be a single-state phenomenon either; 19% of African American voters in the Wolverine State say they’ll check the ballot for Trump.
The survey’s timing is notable with the Democratic nominee in Douglas, Ariz., Friday: The campaigning Harris, billed as the “border czar” early in her vice presidency, is visiting the border for the first time.
But is it too late?
Trump is also making inroads with female voters, with 44% support putting him just behind Harris’ 49%, as 6% say they are undecided or refused to answer the question.
The vice president is not making the same gains with men. Trump leads 54% to 37% with male voters, with 7% undecided and 2% going for marginal candidates.
Harris has overall 39% approval and 55% disapproval for her job performance in the state, and she’s worse with men (34% approval, 49% disapproval) and independents (35% approval, 54% disapproval).
Trump does much better: 52% of voters say they approve of the job he did as president. Senior citizens are especially enthusiastic, with 61% saying they liked his first term in office.
A second Arizona poll, this one from Fox News, also shows the former president in good shape against the vice president.
In that survey of 764 likely voters, conducted from Sept. 20 to 24, Trump is up 50% to 47%.
The Fox poll also illustrates the border problems for Harris. A full 56% of voters think Trump is better suited to handle illegal immigration, giving him a 15-point lead over Harris on the issue.
