Trump Gains Slight Lead Over Harris in Key Swing State Two Weeks Ahead of Election

Election Day is officially two weeks away and, as the race for the White House remains virtually tied, former president Donald Trump is emerging with a slight lead in Georgia, according to a new poll.

Conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia between Oct. 7-16 and among 1,000 likely voters, the poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. It showed that 47% of voters in the Peach State support the former President, compared to 43% for Vice President Kamala Harris. Of those surveyed, 8% said they are still undecided ahead of Election Day.

Looking at race, 74% of Black voters in the survey said they would vote for Harris, while 8% said they planned to vote for Trump. Nearly 18% of Black voters are undecided. On the other hand, 66% of white voters backed Trump, compared with 28% who voiced support for Harris, and 4% remained undecided.

From a gender lens, 59% of male respondents said they would support Trump, compared with 55% of women supporting Harris. Roughly 11% of men said they remain undecided, compared with just 6% of women who said the same.

Partisans are also largely rallying behind their candidate. For instance, Trump received 59% of support from respondents who identified as Republicans and 80% as conservatives, while Harris received around 88% each from voters who were either liberal or Democrats.

The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia polling results coincide with other major polling organizations, albeit by a larger margin.

For instance, in a polling average by FiveThirtyEight, the former president is ahead in the key battleground state by 1.5 percentage points, standing at 48.5% to 47%. Similarly, in The Hill's polling average, Trump is also slightly ahead by 1.1 percentage points.

Georgia is among the seven battleground states that are expected to decide the outcome of the presidential race. The other states are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona. Georgia and Arizona show the clearest leads for Trump, while the others are virtually tied.

The Peach State has also come into national attention recently after the state's Election Board— an unelected panel of three Republicans, one Democrat and a nonpartisan chair— passed a slew of rules in August and September that raised concerns over attempts to slow down the certification process in favor of GOP candidates.

Two rules allowed election workers to undertake a "reasonable inquiry" before certifying and let election officials examine "all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections." a different rule required the completion of a hand-count verification on election night. And several other rules addressed poll-watching, public reporting and other measures.