Trump narrowly leads Biden in Arizona, Nevada: Polls

Former President Trump is narrowly leading President Biden in Arizona and Nevada, new polling shows, as the pair head toward a general election rematch.

A new Emerson College Polling/KLAS-TV/The Hill poll in Nevada found Trump up three points, with 44 percent to Biden’s 41 percent, while another 15 percent of voters were undecided. 

In Arizona, Trump leads by four points, with 48 percent to Biden’s 44 percent, and another eight percent undecided.

Biden closes the gap in Nevada when the candidates that undecided voters lean toward are included, jumping to 49 percent, while Trump is boosted to 51 percent. In Arizona, Trump stays four points ahead, though the split shifts to 52 percent for Trump and 48 percent for Biden.

Trump also has a four-point edge in Arizona among independent voters, which make up a critical portion of the state. Forty-five percent of independent Arizonans back Trump, 41 percent back Biden, and 14 percent are undecided. 

Over in the Silver State, Biden has the edge among Nevada Hispanic voters, who back him 44 percent to 39 percent over Trump, Kimball noted, while Trump fares better among white voters. 

The hypothetical Trump-Biden showdown results are early signs that the battleground states could see nailbiter races in November. 

Biden won Arizona in 2020, flipping it blue for the first time in years. Nevada has gone to Democrats over the last several cycles, but Biden snagged it by a slim margin in 2020. 

Biden is making stops in Nevada and Arizona this week as he looks to shore up support in the West. He won Nevada’s Democratic primary last month, while Trump took home all the GOP delegates on the table in the state.

Both presidential contenders have secured the delegates they need to win their respective party nods, but there are still more primary and caucus contests to go before the summer conventions. Arizona is holding its presidential primary on Tuesday.

Even as nominations are locked up, many voters say they’re dreading a rematch as both candidates fend off concerns about another four years in the White House. Biden has been hit with persistent critiques over his age, while Trump is running amid multiple ongoing legal battles. 

Trump voters in Arizona predominantly support the former president because they care about a given issue or like Trump, at 33 percent and 30 percent, respectively. On the other side of the aisle, 43 percent of Biden voters say they support the incumbent because they dislike Trump, noted Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

Similar numbers were noted in Nevada, with 35 percent of Trump supporters backing the former president because of an issue and 25 percent because they like him, while 42 percent of Biden voters back the incumbent because they dislike Trump. 

Both surveys were conducted March 12-15 among 1,000 registered voters in each state and have a credibility interval, similar to a margin of error, of plus or minus 3 percentage points.