Former President Donald Trump holds a clear lead over President Biden in four of the seven battleground states that will likely decide the 2024 election — and is narrowly ahead of the incumbent in two others, according to a new poll.
The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult swing state poll showed Trump leading Biden by seven percentage points in Arizona (49%-42%), six points in Georgia (49%-43%), eight points in Nevada (51%-43%), and 10 points in North Carolina (51%-41%).
The Republican, 77, also led his Democratic rival by four percentage points in Wisconsin (48%-44%), just inside the poll’s margin of error.
In Biden’s birth state of Pennsylvania, Trump led the president by a single point (47%-46%), while the president held a two-point edge over Trump in Michigan (47%-45%).
Across the seven states surveyed, Trump led Biden 49-43%.
With the inclusion of third-party candidates, Trump had 45% support and Biden had 40%, while independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had 7%. Independent Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein each received 1% of the vote.
Biden won six of the seven states surveyed four years ago, with North Carolina the only state going for Trump.
Swing-state voters said the economy was the top issue with almost six months to go before Election Day, with 82% saying it will be “very important” in deciding who they vote for and 34% saying it would be their single most important issue.
Immigration ranked second, with 15% saying it was their top issue, while abortion and democracy were tied for third on 9% each.
Seven in 10 respondents said they viewed the US economy as going in the “wrong direction,” while 57% said the same about the economy in their own state.
The bad poll numbers for Biden come despite his campaign spending $30 million in the month after his March 7 State of the Union address on ad buys and campaign stops in critical swing states — a push Democrats dubbed the “Month of Action.”
The president’s campaign has emphasized Biden’s record on abortion and attempted to draw contrasts between him and Trump on the economy and the direction of the country.
A large number of voters are unhappy with their choices, with Trump and Biden both getting dismal favorability numbers.
In the seven swing states, 44% said they had “very unfavorable” views of both major party candidates, with another 12% saying they viewed Biden in a “somewhat unfavorable” light and another 9% saying the same of Trump.
Just over half (52%) of respondents said they thought America was “better off” under the 45th president and 51% said their personal financial situation was better under Trump as well.
Social Security was also an important issue for the registered voters surveyed in the poll: 77% of voters said they like the idea of a billionaires’ tax to boost the entitlement’s coffers.
More voters found Biden trustworthy in handling Social Security and Medicare by a six-point margin (45%-39%).
“Americans realize if they want to make gas cheap again and keep more money in their pockets, they must vote Trump,” campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post. “Joe Biden’s economic policies are robbing people of thousands every month and Biden is doubling down, promising to sign the largest tax hike in American history if given another four years in the White House.”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll had a sample size of 4,969 registered voters in seven swing states: 801 registered voters in Arizona, 802 in Georgia, 708 in Michigan, 450 in Nevada, 703 in North Carolina, 803 in Pennsylvania and 702 in Wisconsin.
The surveys was conducted online April 8-15, and had a margin of error of 1% across all the swing states; three percentage points in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania; four percentage points in Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, and five percentage points in Nevada.