Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden has built leads of between 6 and 11 points across six battleground states President Trump carried in 2016 and that both parties see as the likely path to the presidency this time around, according to polling released on Thursday.
Mr. Biden held double-digit leads over Mr. Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which were crucial to the president’s 2016 victory, according to The New York Times/Siena College polling.
The former vice president held an 11-point, 47% to 36% lead over Mr. Trump in Michigan, an 11-point, 49% to 38% lead in Wisconsin, and a 10-point, 50% to 40% lead over the president in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Biden also held a 6-point, 47% to 41% lead in Florida, a 7-point, 48% to 41% lead in Arizona, and a 9-point, 49% to 40% lead in North Carolina — states the president carried by slightly larger margins in 2016.
About four in 10 voters across the battleground states said they approve of how Mr. Trump is handling the coronavirus pandemic and criminal justice issues.
Thirty-four percent said they approve of how Mr. Trump is handling race relations, and 31% said they approve of how the president is handling the protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.
A majority — 56% — did say they approve of how the president is handling the economy, though 55% also said the federal government’s priority right now should be to limit the spread of the coronavirus even if it hurts the economy.
The U.S. saw its single-highest coronavirus case total on Wednesday, at more than 36,000 cases.
The survey of 3,870 registered voters in the six battleground states was conducted from June 8-18.
The margin of error for an individual state ranges from plus or minus 4.1-4.6 percentage points, and the margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
