Harris leads Trump by 4 nationally as both candidates narrow gender gap, poll finds

A new poll released Monday with just hours to go until Election Day shows Vice President Kamala Harris with a four-point lead over former President Trump nationally, while the gender gap between both candidates is narrowing. 

The NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll of 1,297 likely voters, which was conducted from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2., shows Harris capturing 51% of the vote, compared to Trump with 47%. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

The survey shows that as Election Day nears, more men are gravitating to Harris while increasing numbers of women are supporting Trump. 

In the same poll taken in late September, Trump led Harris among men by 57% to 41%. Now that lead has shrunk to 51-47%.   

For Harris, a month ago she led Trump among women voters 58% to 40%, but now that gap has narrowed to 55-44%, according to PBS News. 

Trump is leading Harris among independent voters 51% to 46%, and of those likely voters who say they already have cast their ballots, Harris received 56% support, while Trump has captured 53% among those who have yet to vote, Marist reported. 

Thirty-one percent of those surveyed listed preserving democracy as their ‘top of mind’ issue when they think about voting this November, followed by inflation with 25%, immigration with 19%, abortion with 10% and health care with 7%. 

When asked if Harris is mainly making proposals that she intends to carry out or is making proposals that are just intended to get people to vote for her, voters were divided at 49% for each choice. 

When the same was asked about Trump, 55% said they believed he was making proposals he intends to follow through on, compared to 44% who believe he is just trying to secure votes, the poll shows. 

Despite Harris holding a national lead in the poll, when the voters were asked who they think will actually win the election, 49% said Trump, while 46% said Harris.