Two polls show Harris doing better than Biden against Trump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is performing better than President Joe Biden in battleground states likely to decide the Nov. 5 election, narrowing the gap with Republican Donald Trump, according to an Emerson College/The Hill poll released on Thursday.

The poll showed former President Trump leading in four of the critical states: Arizona 49% to 44%, Georgia 48% to 46%, Michigan 46% to 45%, and Pennsylvania 48% to 46%. Trump and Harris are tied at 47% in Wisconsin, according to the poll.

Harris surpassed Biden's performance in an Emerson poll conducted earlier this month in each of the five states.

Harris hit the campaign trail this week after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed his vice president.

The latest Emerson poll of registered voters was conducted July 22-23 and had a credibility interval for each state of plus or minus 3.4%.

A nationwide poll released on Thursday by the New York Times/Siena College also showed Harris doing better than Biden against Trump. It showed Trump leading Harris by two percentage points, 48% to 46%, among registered voters, while Trump topped Biden by eight percentage points, 49% to 41%, in a poll conducted three weeks ago.

The New York Times/Siena College poll was of 1,142 registered voters nationwide and had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

A Reuters/Ipsos national poll released on Tuesday showed Harris with a 44% to 42% lead over Trump, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error.

While nationwide surveys give important signals of American support for political candidates, a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the U.S. Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis)