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CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten revealed on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s campaign is leading two more blue states into competitive territory.
Enten noted that Minnesota and New Hampshire are now “leaning Democrat” instead of “likely Democrat,” as more states show Trump and President Joe Biden polling closely following the president’s recent debate fallout.
“I’ll give you two examples because this is pre-debate polling from 2024. And look at these 2020 results. New York. This is a blue state … I don’t think there’s a Republican who’s carried that in my lifetime or certainly not when I was more than a year old,” Enten said, noting New York as a new potential state for Trump.
“Look at this, Joe Biden won that state by 23 points. Look at this polling, though, that came out pre-debate. It was Biden just by eight points. I wouldn’t be surprised if that state is even closer now,” he added.
Enten also noted Virginia as a potential Trump win, despite Biden easily winning the state in 2020.
“Or how about in Virginia, right? A state that Joe Biden easily won last time around by ten points. Pre-debate, pre-debate, the race there was tied. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some post-debate polling that actually has Joe Biden behind in Virginia,” he argued.
The Cook Political Report also updated its projections on Tuesday, shifting both Minnesota and New Hampshire to leaning Democrat.
Other changes include moving Arizona, Georgia and Nevada from toss up to leaning Republican and Nebraska’s Second District from likely Democrat to leaning Democrat.
The changes may continue as Biden struggled in his first press conference since the presidential debate on Thursday evening. He referred to Trump as his vice president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”
Other polls have also shown Trump gaining in battleground and blue states. The Saint Anselm College Survey Center at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) survey revealed that Trump now holds a 44 percent to 42 percent advantage over Biden following the first presidential debate. In December, the same poll showed Biden leading Trump by 10 points.