Oddsmakers, heavyweight pollster see major shift in the Kamala Harris, Donald Trump race

Vice President Kamala Harris keeps insisting that she’s the underdog in the presidential race with former president Donald Trump, and while that might have been the case when she first pinch-hit for President Joe Biden, it’s not anymore.

Harris, who has been gaining momentum since her dominating debate performance, now leads in every major forecast, including Nate Silver’s projection — to which Trump supporters clung whenever a new poll favored Harris. But that has flipped, too, and Silver now projects a victory by Harris, who has a three-point polling average advantage.

Harris also has widened her lead in Polymarket to 5 points — the largest lead she’s had, erasing Trump’s commanding 72-17% lead over Biden in June, when 6% were also betting Harris would get into the race.

In key battleground states, Silver gives Harris an edge in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Trump holds advantages in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas. North Carolina, with GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson imploding, is a flat-out tie.

In an NBC News poll released on Sunday, Harris leads 49%-44% (+5) in a two-way head-to-head with Trump, and leads 47%-41% (+6) in the full field that includes all candidates. When Harris entered the race, Trump led by two points in the same poll.

The favorables and unfavorables of Harris and running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, continue to rise: Walz is a plus-7 and Harris is plus-3, while NBC puts Trump (-13) and running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (-13) heavily underwater with voters.

A recent CBS News poll also has Harris up by 4 nationally, 52%-48%, and by two points in the battlegrounds.

In addition, Harris out-raised Trump by four times in August, with her campaign taking in $190 million and Trump raising just shy of $45 million.

According to Politico, Harris outspent Trump $174 million to $61 million in August, but “her preexisting cash advantage and superior fundraising mean that she ended the month with $235 million, $100 million more than Trump.” It added that Harris “spent nearly three times as much as Trump did in August — but raised so much that she still grew her cash advantage.”

Money will play an integral part in getting out the vote, and analysts say Democrats have a decided advantage in cash and infrastructure.

Harris has challenged Trump to a second debate and has accepted an invitation by CNN, but Trump has declined. Harris tweeted Saturday that she “will gladly accept a second presidential debate” and that she hopes Trump “will join” her on Oct. 23. Trump on Saturday said it was “too late” to have another presidential debate because voting has already begun.