Six weeks away from the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are campaigning through swing states. Analysts share what’s different in this sprint to Election Day, plus NBC10 Boston political commentator Sue O’Connell on tariffs, the coming vice presidential debate and more.
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We're six weeks from Election Day and the final sprint is taking shape.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are crisscrossing the country, hoping to court undecided voters as they digest recent poll numbers.
NBC News is showing a 5% lead for Harris among likely voters nationwide, while a new New York Times/Siena College poll has Trump ahead in key battleground states like Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.
"Even though your candidate might be leading two to three points or trailing by two to three points in a state, generally, those fall within the poll's margin of error and should be seen as not statistically significant," said Spencer Kimball with Emerson College Polling.
Polling experts are digging through the data carefully, adding in caveats and remarking on the historic nature of the 2024 race.
"This election cycle is more unique than previous elections," said Kimball. "What we're seeing this year is a lot of movement in the numbers since Harris entered the race."
But political strategists are holding the polls at arm's length.
"People's behavior is consistently ahead of the polling and we're always trying to catch up," Charlie Chieppo said.
"I'm not paying attention to the general, 'She's up two points, he's down six'– none of that. I want to know specifics," said Jacquetta Van Zandt.
Instead, they're focusing on what each candidate needs to do on the campaign trail over the next 42 days.
"I think she should do more interviews. I think people need to get the warm hug from her," Van Zandt said.
"He needs to talk about policy, he needs to talk about immigration, he needs to talk about the economy," Chieppo said.
Trump is scheduled to visit Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin to close out the month of September. Harris will travel to Pennsylvania and the southern border in Arizona.
