After a Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 charges, some polls showed Americans moving towards Biden after the verdict, The Guardian reported.
Trump’s lead over the president shrank from three points to one, according to an analysis of nearly 2,000 interviews with voters who previously participated in New York Times/Siena College polls.
That shift may seem small, but it could prove decisive in November’s presidential election.
Moreover, according to the Times analysis, alienated Democratic-leaning voters and those who dislike both Trump and Biden were more likely to say the verdict made them reconsider their electoral choices.
Both of these electoral groups have played a significant role in boosting Trump’s poll numbers in recent months. Among those who voted for Biden in 2020 and previously said they would support Donald Trump this year, about a quarter indicated they would now back the incumbent.
Republican firm Echelon Insights conducted a survey that showed Biden holding a two-point advantage over Trump among voters. Then, after the verdict, answers from the same respondents indicated a tie between the two candidates.
Meanwhile, a Quinnipiac University poll of Georgia voters, which Biden won by a 0.2-point margin in 2020, showed Trump with a five-point lead over the incumbent. The poll also found that 50 per cent of voters in the swing state agreed with the verdict in the Manhattan case, underscoring the mixed feelings about Trump’s conviction.
However, voter opinion may yet change more than once in the remaining five months.
