Donald Trump appears to have lost ground in two key battleground states with less than five months remaining before the presidential election.
Current polling suggests a close race between Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, and Joe Biden, his incumbent challenger. According to VoteHub tracker data, Trump now trails Biden in Michigan and Wisconsin–an unexpected turn from earlier this campaign season.
As recently as March, Biden trailed Trump by 3.7% in Michigan; by April this gap had narrowed to 0.7% before Biden took the lead over Trump by 0.8% by May and remained ahead as recently as June.
Biden successfully won back Michigan for Democrats during this presidential election – they’d previously lost it seven of eight presidential elections!
Trump’s support in Wisconsin has also diminished since initial polls revealed him to have taken an edge there in late May; recent polls now place Biden ahead by 0.2% and his unfavorable comments about Milwaukee have caused further concerns for him in Wisconsin.
President Trump won Wisconsin with narrow margin in 2016, only to lose out to Joe Biden two years later. Before then, Wisconsin consistently supported Democratic presidential candidates.
Due to the Electoral College system, battleground states such as Michigan and Wisconsin play an essential role. Each electoral vote within their states helps secure enough electoral votes for an electoral victory regardless of overall popular vote results.
While debates and campaign events will undoubtedly shape voter perceptions, it would be unwise to make any definitive statements regarding November’s outcome so soon in advance.
Biden and Trump will meet for their inaugural debate, scheduled to take place June 27 in Atlanta and set up for what promises to be a fierce faceoff ahead of November’s general election.