New poll shows Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump in crucial battleground states: Live (2024)

New poll sees Harris leading in three key battleground states

Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump in three of the most important battleground states that will likely decide the election.

A new poll from The New York Times and Siena College shows the vice president has dramatically reversed the fortunes of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

In a survey of likely voters conducted between August 5 and 9, Harris leads Trump by four percentage points 50 per cent to 46 per cent.

Per the Times:

While the reshaped race is still in its volatile early weeks, Democrats are now in a notably stronger position in these three battleground states that have long been key to the party’s victories — or defeats. Still, the results show vulnerabilities for Ms. Harris. Voters prefer Mr. Trump when it comes to whom they trust to handle the economy and immigration, issues that remain central to the presidential race.

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Much of the newfound Democratic strength stems from improved voter perceptions of Ms. Harris. Her favorability rating has increased 10 percentage points among registered voters in Pennsylvania just in the last month, according to Times/Siena polling. Voters also view Ms. Harris as more intelligent and more temperamentally fit to govern than Mr. Trump.

Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:58

Culinary Union endorses Harris-Walz

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have won the endorsem*nt of the powerful Culinary Union.

In a statement released on Friday evening, the group said the vice president “Has consistently championed our union and hospitality workers” and “stood by us as we negotiated and won the best union contract ever”.

As Donald Trump’s campaign promises a “no tax on tips” rule, the union nevertheless says: “Kamala has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to tackle issues that are important to guest room attendants who clean hotel rooms, cooks who make gourmet food, and the tip-earning servers who deliver co*cktail and unparalleled hospitality.”

Accusing Republicans of siding with Wall Street landlords and the super-rich, the union concludes its statement by saying: “The path to victory runs through Nevada, and the Culinary Union will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice President Tim Walz.”

Harris for President Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in response: “Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz are honored to be endorsed by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 and will never stop fighting for their 60,000 workers across the great state of Nevada.”

Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:50

Sinking ship: Trump mocked for ‘ironic’ Celine Dion song choice

Donald Trump is being lampooned for the “ironic” use of Celine Dion’s Oscar-winning song from Titanic at his latest rally.

Shortly before the presidential candidate appeared on stage in Bozeman, Montana on Friday (9 August), his supporters watched as a clip of Dion singing her 1997 track “My Heart Will Go On” was played on a large screen.

It’s unknown whether Trump requested rights from Dion, who recently performed at the Olympics opening ceremony that Trump went on to criticise. The Independent has contacted representatives of Dion and Disney, who now owns 20th Century Fox, the studio that distributed Titanic, for comment.

Dion previously refused to perform at Trump’s inauguration when he was elected president in 2016.

Jacob Stolworthy reports.

Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:28

The press conference you should’ve been paying attention to while Trump rambled on about nothing

Just as former president Donald Trump wrapped up his stemwinder of a grievance-filled press conference 2,300 miles away, one of his most devoted disciples fought to show signs of life as she runs significantly behind the former president.

Two years ago, Republican Kari Lake, the news anchor-turned-election denier, lost the governorship in Arizona by 17,117 votes. Since then, she’s filed lawsuits to overturn the results while at the same time announcing that she will be running for the US Senate seat Kyrsten Sinema will vacate at the end of this year.

“We are in a difficult time in our country and it seems that Arizona is kind of right there at ground zero for a lot of the problems that people are facing,” she said to open a press conference at the Maricopa County Republican Party office on Thursday. “Whether it be the inflation and the cost of living that has soared under the Biden-Kamala regime or whether it be the wide open border that used to be secure and is no longer secure in America.”

Eric Garcia10 August 2024 14:00

Trump’s election interference case is back in Judge Chutkan’s hands after months of delays

Donald Trump’s federal election interference case is slowly coming back to life.

The case is now back in the hands of District Judge Tanya Chutkan after it was frozen for months while the former president was fighting for “immunity” up to the Supreme Court.

The four criminal cases against the former president — spanning 88 charges in four jurisdictions — have been hung up in months of appeals and delays, creating a Russian nesting doll of courtroom battles, with court dates and side hearings on evidence, gag orders and defense arguments all designed to slow down the likelihood of another conviction before Election Day.

Alex Woodward10 August 2024 13:00

What JD Vance did in Iraq, as told by the friend who served with him

JD Vance sparked a firestorm this week when he accused fellow veteran and Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, of abandoning his unit before it deployed to Iraq.

“When the United States Marine Corps … asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it,” Vance told reporters. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq … he dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.”

Democrats were quick to hit back at the claim, pointing out that Walz filed to run for Congress and officially retired from the Minnesota National Guard months before his unit was alerted about deployment. But Vance’s criticism of his opponent’s record has drawn greater scrutiny of his own time as a “combat correspondent” in the Marine Corps, a role that involves gathering news and writing articles for internal Marine Corps publications and facilitating interviews and access for civilian media.

Richard Hall10 August 2024 12:00

Pence says he ‘could never vote’ for Harris and Walz

At a gathering hosted by conservative commentator Erick Erickson, former Vice President Mike Pence said he “could never vote” for Harris and Walz, but added that he’s “staying out of the presidential campaign,” according to The Washington Post.

“I cannot endorse this growing abandonment of our allies on the world stage that’s taken hold in parts of our party,” added, saying that he also couldn’t back “ignoring our national debt” and “marginalizing the right to life.”

“And between me and my running mate, I cannot endorse President Trump’s continuing assertion that I should’ve set aside my oath” to the Constitution during the 2021 Capitol riot and refused to certify the 2020 election.

Gustaf Kilander10 August 2024 11:00

Tucker Carlson teases documentary on Trump’s ‘comeback’ — just as Harris picks up momentum

Katie Hawkinson10 August 2024 10:00

Trump claims Willie Brown told him ‘terrible things’ about Harris on a near-fatal helicopter ride. He says every part of the story is fiction

Donald Trump has claimed that Willie Brown, the former San Francisco mayor and ex-partner of Kamala Harris, told him some “terrible things” about her during a near-death experience on a helicopter ride.

Now, the former has spoken out to reveal that every part of the story is “fiction”.

According to Brown, there were no critical comments about Harris, no near-fatal crash – and, in fact, no helicopter ride whatsover.

During his lie-filled press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday afternoon – his first public briefing since Harris picked Tim Walz to join her on the Democratic ticket – the former president recounted what now appears to be a tall tale about a helicopter ride he claims he once took with Brown.

James Liddell10 August 2024 09:00

Trump megadonor John Paulson claims $400,000-a-month Hamptons rental was infested with rodents and made fiancée sick

Uber-wealthy hedge funder and high-profile Trump donor John Paulson fled a $400,000-per-month Hamptons rental after just seven days upon discovering the palatial seaside spread reeked of rodent urine and excrement, according to a demand letter obtained by The Independent.

Justin Rohrlich10 August 2024 08:00