New poll finds Trump, Biden tied in Florida

President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are neck and neck in the critical swing state of Florida less than a month out from Election Day, according to a new Suffolk University-USA Today poll.

Trump and Biden each garnered the support of 45 percent of voters in the Sunshine State in the survey, while another 6 percent of voters said they were undecided. 

The findings come as the presidential race has been rocked recently by a series of events, including Trump’s announcement of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a New York Times bombshell report on Trump’s income tax payments, last week’s raucous presidential debate and Trump and a large number of people in his orbit testing positive for the coronavirus.

A large portion of the poll was conducted after Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.

As Trump faces widespread criticism for his handling of the pandemic, the poll found that 42 percent of voters in the state said his efforts to combat the virus were “good” or “excellent” while 45 percent of respondents described the president’s efforts as “poor.” 

Trump’s overall job approval in Florida stayed just above water, with 48 percent saying they approve and 47 percent saying they disapprove. 

Florida is a must-win state for Trump with 29 electoral votes up for grabs. 

Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 after former President Obama, with Biden as his running mate, won the state in the 2008 and 2012 elections. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Biden up in the state by 2.3 points.

Biden visited Florida on Monday, meeting with voters and local leaders in Miami before taking part in a televised town hall with NBC News.

The Suffolk University poll was conducted Oct. 1-4 among 500 likely Florida voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.