Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds a 3-point lead over Democrat Kamala Harris in a national head-to-head matchup, bolstered by strong support from independent voters, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll released on Thursday.
The poll shows Trump leading Harris 49% to 46%. While his lead has narrowed slightly from 4 points a week ago, Trump’s advantage among independents has grown by 2 points during the same period. The poll indicates that Trump has secured 51% of independent voters’ support compared to 40% for Harris. Last week, Trump led Harris by 9 points among unaffiliated voters.
Rasmussen Reports speculated whether Trump might be benefiting from a “DNC Convention bounce” in a post on social media platform X.
Harris, however, has made gains among female voters, which has helped her reduce Trump’s overall lead. In the previous week’s poll, Trump led Harris 49% to 47% among women. This week, Harris has reversed the numbers, leading Trump 48% to 46%, according to Rasmussen.
In a six-way race, Trump leads Harris 47% to 45%, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receiving 4% support. Reports suggest that Kennedy may soon end his campaign and endorse Trump.
In this broader contest, Trump maintains a 9-point lead among independents, with 48% to Harris’s 39%, while Kennedy garners 7% support. The six-way poll also includes Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, and independent candidate Cornel West.
Rasmussen surveyed 1,893 likely voters between August 15 and August 21. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.
