Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump: Polls tighten in battleground states ahead of Presidential race

US voters head to the polls on 5 November to choose their next president.

Initially a rematch of the 2020 election, the race took a turn in July when President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris.

The main question now is whether the result will lead to a second Donald Trump term or the first female president, Kamala Harris.

As election day nears, the BBC will be tracking the polls and analyzing how major events, like the recent presidential debate, impact the race.

Before Biden stepped down, polls showed him consistently trailing Trump, and early polls suggested Harris wasn’t doing much better. However, after she started campaigning, she gained a slight lead over Trump in national polling averages, which she has maintained. The latest polls show Harris at 47% and Trump at 44%, with little change since August.

While national polls indicate overall popularity, they don’t predict the outcome accurately due to the electoral college system. The election's real focus is on battleground states where both candidates have a chance of winning.

Currently, polls are tight in seven key battleground states, making it difficult to determine who’s ahead. The small margin in states like Pennsylvania, which holds the most electoral votes, could decide the election.

Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, once Democratic strongholds, shifted to Trump in 2016 but were won back by Biden in 2020. If Harris can hold onto them, she’s in a strong position to win.

Notably, when Biden exited the race, he was behind Trump by nearly five points on average in the battleground states.