Polls show Harris and Trump tied nationally, tight race in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump remain deadlocked less than seven weeks before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, according to new polls released on Thursday that also show a tight race in the key state of Pennsylvania.

While the surveys found likely and registered voters gave higher marks to Democrat Harris in last week's debate with her Republican opponent, they showed the race — particularly in the battleground state — remains close, in line with other polling. 

In the national poll, Harris and Trump were tied at 47% among the 2,437 likely voters polled Sept. 11-16, according to a survey by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. 

In Pennsylvania, one of seven critical battleground states, Harris maintained her 4-point advantage, leading 50% to 46% with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, according to the Times poll.

Separate findings by The Washington Post also found a tight race between the candidates in the state, which is among those along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Wisconsin that are seen as likely to determine November's outcome.

Among 1,003 Pennsylvania likely and registered voters surveyed Sept. 12 -16, 48% said they would vote for Harris while 47% said they would cast their ballot for Trump — a 1- point difference that falls within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

The majority of those polled told the Post they were "extremely motivated" to vote and that protecting American democracy was "extremely important." But voters were split on which candidate would best protect the nation's freedoms, with 48% choosing Harris and 45% choosing Trump.

The issue looms large as Harris, a former prosecutor and state attorney general, seeks to maintain Democrats' hold on the White House after Biden dropped his re-election bid in July. Trump, who faces four criminal cases, has continued to falsely claim his 2020 election defeat by Biden was due to fraud.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. 

The NYT/Inquirer/Siena poll also found U.S. democracy was a major issue for voters along with the economy, abortion and immigration, with preferences for either candidate largely unchanged.     

Reuters/Ipsos polling last week showed Harris with a 5 percentage point lead among registered voters, leading Trump 47% to 42%.

(This story has been refiled to correct a typo in the headline)

(Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Tomasz Janowski)