CHICAGO – US Vice President Kamala Harris and her rival Donald Trump are now tied in seven battleground states, latest opinion polls show.

These polls were conducted by ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll and CBS News on the eve of four-day Democratic National Convention in Chicago, starting Monday (today).

It is a big improvement for Democrats as Trump, former and a Republican nominee, was earlier leading in some of these states.

But the development came only after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Harris replaced me, as the Democrats panicked with the prospects of Trump returning to the White House. As a result, they made Biden to leave the contest.

At the same time, Harris currently enjoys three to six percentage points countrywide lead over Trump.

SWING STATES

Given the electoral college system is the basis of the of US presidential election, the battleground states, also called the swing states, decide the outcome.

Swing states are those in US presidential elections that could potentially be won by either candidate. Therefore, the candidates focus on these states.

Their opposites are known as safe states, which opinion polls leading up to the election identify as being highly likely won by a particular party’s candidate.

In 2024, the seven battleground states are: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. And Harris and Trump are tied 50-50.

IS HARRIS A GAME CHANGER?

Things have changed for Democrats since the US vice president became the party nominee.

According to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, Harris is ahead of Trump by 49-45% among registered voters and 51-45%.

In a five-way race that includes Robert F Kennedy, Cornel West and Jill Stein, Harris leads Trump 47-44% among registered voters and 49-45% among likely voters.

On the other hand, the CBS News poll shows that Harris is three points ahead nationally, leading Trump 51-48%.

SUN BELT STATES

On Saturday, a New York Times/Siena College poll showed Harris in contention in the “Sun Belt” states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, which had been leaning heavily towards Trump when Biden was the Democratic nominee.

Harris on Sunday held several campaign events in Pennsylvania, whose 20 electoral votes flipped from Trump to Biden in 2020.

“We have a lot of work to do to earn the vote of the American people. That’s why we’re on this bus tour today and we’re going to be travelling this country as we’ve been and talking with folks, listening to folks and hopefully earning their votes over the next 79 days.”

However, Trump criticized Harris on inflation and her previous opposition to fracking, which is popular in the state, while also launching a series of personal attacks.

“People say, ‘Be nice’. Have you heard her laugh? That is the laugh of a crazy person… It’s the laugh of a lunatic,” Trump said.

THE GAZA CHALLENGE

Although Democrats have quickly coalesced around Harris, the Democratic nominee is expected to face demonstrations over the Biden administration’s support for the war in Gaza on the sidelines of the convention.

It means Harris still needs to impress the Muslim and millennial voters who are against the traditional policies of US establishment when it comes to Palestinians and Israel.

Dozens of Democratic delegates calling themselves “Delegates Against Genocide” have said that they will use the convention to press for an embargo on US arms sales to Israel.

The Democrats’ draft platform released last month calls for an immediate ceasefire in the war, without mentioning the Palestinian death toll or calling for a halt to US arms shipments to Israel.