BluIz70 / Shutterstock.com
CV NEWS FEED // Multiple polls released this week show former President Donald Trump within single digits of President Joe Biden in the heavily Democratic state of New York.
Trump’s unexpectedly strong showing in the Empire State may be attributed to him polling at nearly five times the percentage of the black vote he received in the 2020 election.
The New York Post reported Thursday that “[i]f the election were held today, Biden would receive 47% of the vote [in New York] to 39% for Trump,” according to a recent Siena College poll.
“The poll’s margin of error — 4.1% — means the race could be even closer,” the Post added.
In the poll, a stunning 29% of black voters and 26% of Latino voters in New York indicated they would support Trump.
By comparison, Trump received only around 6% of the black vote and 22% of the Latino vote in New York four years ago.
>> BIDEN LOSING SUPPORT WITH FEMALE VOTERS, PARTICULARLY MINORITY WOMEN <<
Trump’s polling surge among black voters in the state reflects an overall trend seen in other polls throughout the country in recent months.
The Siena poll also showed a close race among New York’s significant Jewish community, which has traditionally voted strongly Democratic.
In the poll, Biden is leading Trump among New York’s Jewish voters 52% to 46%. Per the Post, Trump only received 30% of the Jewish vote across the country in 2020.
Siena was not the only polling firm to show Trump within striking distance in New York.
RealClearPolitics’ polling average on Thursday had Biden in an even smaller 7.5-point lead in the state, with 47.5% of the vote to Trump’s 40%.
Late last month, Trump held a rally in the South Bronx, an area that is predominately Hispanic and black and historically has overwhelmingly voted for Democrats.
According to reports, between eight and 10 thousand people attended the rally.
At the massive May event, Trump made his case to minority voters, telling them, according to the Post, that “they were being badly impacted by record illegal immigration under Biden, as well as by economic issues such as high inflation.”
Biden carried New York state by 23 points in 2020. In 2016, Trump also lost New York by a slightly-smaller margin of 22.5 points to Hillary Clinton, who had represented the state in the U.S. Senate.
The last Republican candidate to carry New York was President Ronald Reagan, during his 49-state landslide reelection victory in 1984. The only Republican candidate to come within single digits since was his successor George H.W. Bush, who lost the state by four points in 1988.
Trump was born and raised in New York and primarily lived in the state for the vast majority of his life. His primary residence is now in Florida.
