NEW YORK, Oct 25 (APP): US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the top job, are essentially tied in the race, according to the final poll released Friday by The New York Times and Siena College ahead of next month’s election.
The poll, less than two weeks before the Nov 5 presidential election, shows Trump and Ms. Harris tied for the popular vote 48% to 48%.
The survey of 2,516 likely voters nationwide took place from Oct. 20 to Oct. 23, with a margin of error plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
The latest poll suggests the race has drawn even closer since the Times/Siena College’s previous poll taken in early October, which showed Harris had a three-point lead over Trump, though the change is within the margin of error.
“A high-profile debate, two attempts on (Trump’s) life, dozens of rallies across seven battlefield states and hundreds of millions spent on advertisements have seemingly done little to change the trajectory of the race,” the Times reported.
In the past, Muslim-Americans were a solidly Democratic voting bloc, especially in the years following 9/11 and given Trump’s overtly anti-Muslim rhetoric. But they are angry with the Biden administration – and, by extension, Kamala Harris – for its support for Israel, Muslim Americans may be willing to overlook Trump’s history of closeness with Israel’s hard-right leaders. “If, and when, they say, when I’m president, the US will once again be stronger and closer [to Israel] than it ever was,” he said last week. “I will support Israel’s right to win its war.”
Yet national polls show Muslim-Americans slightly favouring the former president; others are increasingly vocal in support of the third outfit in the field — Green party’s Jill Stein, a socialist who has been sharply critical of US blind support to Israel.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani-American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC USA) has already endorsed Donald Trump, the former president.
In the US, (A PAC refers to an organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to support or oppose candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.)