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(NewsNation) — Late-deciding voters could tip the scales for either presidential candidate this election year. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will hit the “blue wall” states just days before the election, hoping to tilt the race in those swing states their way.
Recent history dictates that whoever wins the blue wall states wins the presidency. In 2016, that was Trump. In 2020, it was President Joe Biden.
For this year’s election, it remains a toss-up between candidates.
Where the candidates stand in blue wall states
So far, Harris has increased the level of support in several key constituencies but is often trailing the levels in which Biden won them, a new Marist/NPR poll found.
It also showed Trump’s numbers in some of these categories trailing what his numbers were back in 2020.
Harris has seen solid support among non-whites over Trump while he continues to have an advantage among white voters, according to the latest poll in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Marist survey showed Harris, however, trailing in support among nonwhites compared to what Biden had among this group in 2020 in all three states.
The contests in all three states are dead heats. Harris currently has advantages in all three, but they are within the margin of error.
Harris is doing much better with independents than in the last Marist survey of the blue wall states. In Pennsylvania, she now garners 55% versus 40% for Trump, according to the Marist survey. In September, he topped her. In Michigan and Wisconsin, she has slightly widened her previous lead over Trump in this important constituency.
In the key gender gap, Harris’ lead among women compared to Trump’s with men has grown in two of the states but shrunk in Pennsylvania. The gap in Pennsylvania has narrowed to 12 points. In Michigan, the gender gap has grown to 17 points. In Wisconsin, a 21-point gender gap exists.
Securing blue wall states is easy way to victory
Securing the blue all states could be Harris’ easiest way to victory because securing the blue wall means she likely secures the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
However, if she loses even just one of the blue wall states, Harris will have to bank on other battleground states such as North Carolina.
Hoping to avoid that possibility, Harris will spend her last two days campaigning in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Trump will also make stops in those two states.