Biden Holds Significant Lead Over Trump In PA: New Poll

LANCASTER, PA — A new Franklin & Marshall College poll has Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin among likely voters.

That edge in the survey released Thursday is similar to a Franklin & Marshall poll in September and similar to other polls that show Biden leading in the state by mid- to high-single digits.

advantage in the counties he won. But the poll indicated Biden currently holds a larger vote share in the counties Hillary Clinton won in 2016 than Trump holds in the counties he won that year.

Trump carried Pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes in 2016, and he was the first Republican to carry the Keystone State since President George H.W. Bush in the 1980s.

Fifty-seven percent of poll respondents have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, while 52 percent of voters have a favorable view of Biden.

Trump continues to have an advantage when it comes to economic issues, but Biden holds an advantage over the president on all other polled characteristics, which include:

• Handling the coronavirus outbreak.
• Keeping communities safe.
• Being the commander in chief of the military.
• Race issues.

The poll found that only 43 percent of voters believe that Pennsylvania is headed in the right direction, which is consistent with recent Franklin & Marshall surveys that have shown less optimism about the state’s direction compared to last year.

Poll respondents list coronavirus as the most important problem facing the state, with concerns about the economy being the second most common concern.

The Franklin & Marshall poll results are similar to one recently overseen by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center. That poll had Biden up 52 percent to 44 percent in the key states of Pennsylvania and Michigan. Biden also had a 53 percent to 44 percent advantage over the president in Wisconsin.

Trump and Biden both are scheduled to make separate appearances in Tampa on Thursday.

View the entire Franklin & Marshall College poll here.