Biden up 17 points in new Wisconsin poll

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a commanding lead over President Trump in Wisconsin in a new poll of the key battleground state released less than a week before Election Day.

The ABC News-Washington Post poll found Biden supported by 57 percent of likely voters, far ahead of the president’s 40 percent. The former vice president has gained 5 percentage points since the last ABC News-Washington Post poll in mid-September, while the president lost 6 points. 

Wednesday’s poll comes a day after a survey from the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed Biden leading by 9 points in the state, 53-44, among likely voters. Trump won the state four years ago by just less than 1 percentage point.

The president visited Wisconsin as recently as Friday, holding a rally in Waukesha, where he once again hammered Biden over his willingness to lock down the country again should scientists deem it necessary to slow the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 cases are surging across Wisconsin, which has forced local health officials to urge citizens to take further measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The state reported 5,331 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, a new record.

“There is no way to sugarcoat it, we are facing an urgent crisis and there is an imminent risk to you and your family,” Gov. Tony Evers (D) said on Tuesday.

The ABC News-Washington Post poll was conducted Oct. 20-25 among 809 likely voters in Wisconsin. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.