By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kamala Harris’ lead over Donald Trump narrowed in the final stretch of the US presidential race, with the Democrat ahead of the Republican by a single percentage point, between 44% and 43%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published. on Tuesday.

The three-day poll, completed Sunday, showed the race was effectively tied ahead of the Nov. 5 election. The poll had a margin of error of about three percentage points in either direction.

While Harris has led Trump in every Reuters/Ipsos poll among registered voters since she entered the race in July, her lead has been steadily shrinking since late September. An earlier Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from October 16 to 21 showed that Harris, the current US vice president, has a two-point lead over former President Trump.

The new poll, which surveyed 1,150 American adults nationwide, including 975 registered voters, showed that Trump has significant leads over Harris on several of the issues voters consider most pressing.

When asked which of the two candidates had a better approach to the economy, unemployment and jobs, voters in the poll chose Trump by 47% to 37%. Trump has had an advantage on the economy throughout the campaign, with 26% of voters in the latest poll citing jobs and the economy as the country’s most pressing problem, compared to 24% who cited political extremism and 18 % that indicated immigration.

Trump’s biggest policy advantage could be on immigration issues, where he has put forward hardline proposals that include mass deportations of immigrants in the country illegally. About 48% of voters in the latest poll said Trump’s approach to immigration was the best, up from 33% who chose Harris.

The poll also showed that Harris’ lead on the issue of political extremism is declining. About 40% of voters in the survey said she had a better approach to handling political extremism and threats to democracy, compared with 38% who chose Trump. Harris’ two-point lead on the issue compares with her seven-point lead over Trump on extremism in the Oct. 16-21 poll.

Harris has emphasized Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters seeking to overturn his 2020 election loss, and on Tuesday she will deliver what her campaign announced as her final pre-election speech. important before the election at the site where Trump gathered his supporters before the riot.

Trump responded by arguing that Harris’ views are extreme and would amount to a socialist takeover of American institutions.

Harris’ marginal lead over Trump may not be enough to win the election even if it holds until November 5.

National polls, including Reuters/Ipsos polls, give important signals about electorate views, but state-by-state Electoral College results determine the winner, with seven battleground states likely to be decisive.

Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, triumphing in the Electoral College even though he won the national popular vote by two points.

Polls have shown Harris and Trump also neck and neck in those battleground states.

Given the close result, the candidates’ efforts to ensure that their supporters actually vote will likely be key in determining the winner.

Only two-thirds of American adults voted in the 2020 election, which was the highest turnout in more than a century, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center.

About 89% of registered Democrats and 93% of registered Republicans in the survey said they were completely sure they would vote. That points to possible greater enthusiasm for voting now compared to four years ago, when a Reuters/Ipsos poll from late October 2020 showed that 74% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans said they were sure to vote. vote.

Among respondents in the latest survey who seemed most likely to vote, Harris also had a one-point lead over Trump, 47% to 46%.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)