Trump holds lead over Kamala Harris in Florida as first polls start to trickle in

Former President Donald Trump still holds a commanding lead in Florida ahead of the presidential elections despite Joe Biden's decision to drop out and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, a new poll shows.

The survey, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies between July 22 and 24, shows the GOP nominee with a lead of eight percentage points over Harris, 48% to 40%. The figures are practically mirroring their approval rating, as Trump holds 47% in that area, compared to Harris' 39%.

In fact, it shows a slight improvement for Trump, as the last poll before Biden dropped out had him with a seven-point lead, 47% to 40%.

"Donald Trump's lead over Harris is wider than it was last week over Biden in both Florida (eight points, +1) and Michigan (three points, +2), while his lead remains unchanged in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin," reads a passage of the poll's summary.

Respondents said economic issues are at the top of their priorities when casting their ballots. They were followed by abortion, the cost of living and immigration. Regarding the latter issue, a majority of voters believe the government is not doing enough to control its borders. More voters Trump over Harris on the economy, inflation, immigration, policing and crime and dealing with the Israel-Palestine conflict, the survey added.

Harris is practically tied with Trump at the national level, according to a new poll by the New York Times/Siena College, but that doesn't show variations within states. In a likely head-to-head match, Trump still leads Harris 48% to 47%. That is an improvement for Democrats, as Biden trailed behind the former president by about six percentage points in early July during the aftermath of the debate (49% to 43%).

When it comes to Latinos, a significant amount of Democrats, moderates and young voters in the group also seemed to largely switch back and support Harris, an issue the Biden campaign was running into.

Other areas of the poll showed that 41% of White people said they would vote for Harris and 55% said they would vote for Trump, while 72% of Black voters said they would vote for the Vice President, compared to 19% who backed Trump.

But The New York Times argues that a Democratic candidate with greater appeal to younger and more diverse voters could put renewed focus on the Sun Belt states of Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, which had been threatening to slip off the swing-state map for Biden.