CNN political director David Chalian warned Monday that the presidential election will become more complicated for President Joe Biden as Democratic states become increasingly “competitive.”
Former President Donald Trump has maintained a steady lead over former President Biden. Battleground States and Nationwide Over the past few months and after the most recent debates, the former president has expanded his lead in at least five polls. Chalian told CNN News Central that states like Minnesota, Virginia and New Mexico could be in Trump's favor, even though they are considered “light blue.” (Related: Poll shows majority of voters want to oust Biden after disastrous debate defeat)
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CNN's David Chalian warns that the race will “get more complicated” for Biden as “light blue states” become “competitive” pic.twitter.com/qZP2ySFBXv
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“Before the debate, Donald Trump was leading by two points in the polls, the average of the national polls. 49% to 47%. It's pretty close. After the debate, Donald Trump is still there. The debate didn't boost his support, but Joe Biden did,” Chalian said. “His approval rating went down to 44%, which means Donald Trump is now five points ahead in the polls. So to say the debate didn't have an impact, I don't think that's reflected in the polls as a whole. And when you look at the electoral map and the path to 270, it's only going to get more complicated.”
“Look here, here are our latest race assessments. Yellow is the true battleground,” he continued. “Red-leaning states like Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Michigan are also obviously battleground states. But we're talking about light blue states like Minnesota, Virginia, New Mexico, which lean Democratic. Those states may be emerging as more competitive states right now. We'll have to see how true that is. If so, it means Biden will have to spend more resources in more states than he does now. If the map widens against him, he won't be in a strong position going into the fall.”
Biden lost his leads in New Mexico and Virginia after the debate, but the former president continues to hold leads in states including New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. according to That's according to an internal Democratic poll by OpenLab that was leaked Tuesday.
Pollster Frank Luntz said in June that it's noteworthy that Trump is in a close race with Biden in Minnesota, where the president currently holds a 3% lead in the two-way race. according to to the RealClearPolling average.
“Minnesota is a solid Democratic state and votes Democrat every presidential election. Poll after poll shows Trump leading in Minnesota by a couple of points. I don't think the media understands exactly what's going on,” Luntz said.
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