WASHINGTON – Vice-President Kamala Harris leads Republican opponent Donald Trump by 4 percentage points among likely voters in each of three US battleground states, according to a survey by The New York Times and Siena College.

       The Aug 5 to 9 poll of 1,973 registered voters shows Ms Harris with 50 per cent support among the likely electorate in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Trump had 46 per cent support in each state.

       The numbers add to the Democratic presidential campaign’s momentum just as Ms Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, wrap up a tour of the handful of states that could make the difference in the November election.

       Trump retains an advantage on whom likely voters trust to do a better job on the economy, leading Ms Harris by 52 per cent to 46 per cent in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and by 51 per cent to 45 per cent in Michigan.

       The poll also shows likely voters prefer Trump to handle immigration, while Ms Harris leads when it comes to democracy and abortion rights.

       Ms Harris leads the former president by 53 per cent to 43 per cent among likely suburban voters, considered a key demographic in the race. In an NYT-Siena poll of six swing states ending on May 9, US President Joe Biden and Trump were in a statistical dead heat among that group.

       Trump’s campaign questioned the relevance of the poll published Aug 10, claiming in a statement that NYT-Siena surveys underestimated his support in all three states before the 2020 election.

       The margin of error across the three states was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points for all registered voters, and plus or minus 2.6 percentage points for the likely electorate. BLOOMBERG