Kamala Harris’s recent interview with CNN wasn’t enough to impress gamblers who still have Donald Trump beating her in the November election.
According to gamblers making bets on the presidential election, Trump has a 49.7% chance of beating Harris, who’s losing by 0.9 percentage points, Daily Mail reports. According to gambling sources aggregated by Real Clear Polling, Trump has been either tying or beating Harris in gambling polls since Harris took over for Joe Biden in July.
Trump’s current lead is his first since Aug. 22, despite election polls showing Harris has a clear lead in taking the White House. There was a tie on Aug. 31, but Harris took a dip in the betting odds following her interview on CNN last week.
Harris’s last lead over Trump was on Aug. 15, when she obtained an 8.8% lead. Following Harris’ brief lead, there was another tie, and Harris led again following the Democratic National Convention in Chicago when she opened up a 2.3 percentage point gap.
Betting markets hold some weight regarding election odds due to gamblers focusing on profits rather than influence from the government or media when voting. Some election forecasters view betting markets as a valuable indicator due to the lack of bias in a gambler’s decision-making.
According to the outlet, only PredictIt (53%) shows Harris in the lead among the six bookmakers in RCP’s aggregate. Polling still shows Harris with a slight edge, as she holds a 1.8% lead over Trump in RCP’s polling averages. But, Trump still leads the polling averages in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina and is tied with Harris in Nevada.
For swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Harris takes the lead. Both campaigns are focusing on independent and undecided voters in the seven key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz spent Labor Day in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, including one event with Biden, while Trump made no public appearances. Surveys indicate that Trump holds a lead on key issues voters care about as the election approaches, including an 8-point advantage in trust to address the economy and rising inflation and a nine-point lead on handling immigration at the southern border.