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| Source: NBC News |
As there are only five weeks left until the next United States Presidential election, it’s time for another look at where the polls stand between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
The first table includes the polling averages for head-to-head matchups according to RealClearPolitics, both nationally and the aggregate of traditional battleground states (Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Arizona). The third column features the average betting odds across popular betting sites, where ordinary people place small monetary bets on who they think will win the election.
National Average | Battleground States | Betting Odds | |
September 17 | Biden +5.8 | Biden +3.6 | Biden +5.3 |
September 24 | Biden +6.5 | Biden +3.6 | Biden +7.4 |
Joe Biden gained nearly an entire percentage point in the national average, and was up by 6.5 percentage points over Donald Trump on Thursday, September 24. These gains came primarily in states that vote reliably Democrat, as seen by the lack of movement in the battleground states column. Where Biden surely wishes the numbers in these two columns were switched, he still has a sizable lead in both. It appears apparent now more than ever that Trump will go into the first Presidential debate as the underdog for re-election. Those in the betting market reflect this notion, with Biden gaining over two percentage points from last week.
FOX News Viewers | MSNBC Viewers | CNN Viewers | |
September 14-17 | 3.831 mil. | 2.397 mil. | 1.694 mil. |
September 21-24 | 3.945 mil. | 2.215 mil. | 1.353 mil. |
This is somewhat perplexing due to the viewership trends for the prime time programs this week on FOX News, MSNBC, and CNN. The latter two did not have good weeks, while FOX News saw an increase in viewers. This is the opposite of last week, when Joe Biden and MSNBC both saw downward trends. Of course, not everyone polled watches cable news. Still, it is remarkable that Biden’s lead looks healthy when those who do watch prime time cable news overwhelmingly pick FOX News as their network of choice.
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