Latest presidential poll: Who is ahead? Does Trump’s conviction matter?
The latest presidential poll shows Joe Biden and Donald Trump locked in a virtual dead heat.
The CBS News and YouGov poll shows 50% of likely voters said they were backing Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, compared to 49% who were supporting President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The same poll showed the majority of voters overall – 55% – said Trump’s recent conviction in a hush money trial involving an adult film star would not be a factor when they cast their ballots in November. Twenty-eight percent said it would be a major factor; 17% said it would be a minor factor. Among likely Trump voters, 71% said the conviction would not be a factor; 15% said they would support him despite the conviction and 14% said they would vote for Trump to show support after his conviction.
While the guilty verdict may not be playing a major role, concerns over the economy are, the poll showed. Eighty-one percent of likely Trump voters said the economy was the key factor in their vote, compared to 75% who cited the economy, 74% who pointed to the state of the democracy and 62% who cited concern about crime.
Among Biden supporters, 54% said opposition to Trump was the main reason they would cast their ballot compared to 27% who said they liked the president and 19% who said they would vote for him because he’s the Democratic nominee.
Sixty-seven percent said Trump had a vision for leading the country compared to 51% who said the same for Biden. Trump received his lowest marks – 37% – for compassion on a list of presidential traits. Biden’s lowest score, 26%, came when potential voters were asked if the president was energetic.
The CBS News/YouGov was conducted nationally among a sample of 2,063 adults who were interviewed between June 5-7. The margin of error is plus/minus 3.2 points.