Biden tops Trump in CNN polls for Michigan, Florida, Arizona

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Another wave of opinion polls released on Sunday (July 26) showed voters leaning to Democrat Joe Biden over President Donald Trump in Michigan, Florida and Arizona, three key states won by Trump in 2016.

Handling of the coronavirus spells trouble for Trump, according to pollsters, as US cases now exceed 4 million and deaths are over 146,000. The US election is 100 days away but early voting will start in some states in as few as five weeks.

Biden is ahead in Arizona by 49 per cent to 45 per cent among registered voters, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS, a survey and market research firm.

Another Arizona poll released on Sunday, from NBC News/Marist, put Biden up by 5 percentage points, 50 per cent to 45 per cent.

Arizona voters said Biden would do a better job handling the Covid-19 outbreak and race relations. Trump's supporters were more enthusiastic than Biden's, though - a factor that the president and his re-election campaign have emphasised.

Democrats also enjoy a wide advantage in Arizona's Senate contest between incumbent Republican Martha McSally and challenger Mark Kelly. Kelly, a NASA astronaut and husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, had a 12-point lead over McSally, 53 per cent to 41 per cent, after having a 3-point edge in March, NBC said.

Trump carried Michigan in 2016 by a narrow 10,704-vote margin. The new CNN poll put Biden on top there by 52 per cent to 40 per cent. Another poll released on Sunday, from CBS/YouGov, showed Biden leading by 6 points.

Some 70 per cent of Michigan's registered voters reported disliking how the president handles himself personally. Biden is only mixed on that measure himself but does better than Trump by double digits.

Some surveys have shown that when voters dislike both candidates, more are leaning towards Biden.

CBS showed Trump up by 1 point over Biden in Ohio after winning the state by 8 points in 2016. Much of Biden's support in Michigan and Ohio came from people who are mainly voting against Trump rather than for Biden, CBS said.

In Florida, Biden is ahead 51 per cent to 46 per cent, according to the CNN survey. Like Arizona, Florida is dealing with a rapid rise in the level of coronavirus infections.