Former President Donald Trump holds a firm lead in a key state over Vice President Kamala Harris on the question of how to handle immigration — as the border crisis remains a top issue for voters.
A new poll released this week from Marquette Law School finds Harris leading Trump overall in Wisconsin by 52-48%.
But when it comes to immigration and border security, Trump dominates. Of voters, 49% favor Trump while just 37% favor Harris, with 8% saying they’d be about the same, and 6% saying neither are good on the issue.
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Trump holds a similar 12 point lead on handling the war between Israel-Hamas, while Harris has an 11 point gap on handling Medicare & Social Security and a 17 point lead on abortion.
Of the issues polled, immigration was near the top of the issues, with 15% of voters saying it was their most important issue, the same number who said abortion, and only behind the economy — which was top issue for 37% of voters.
The poll is the latest indicator that Harris still has a fair way to go in convincing some voters that she is the better candidate on a topic that has dominated the headlines and remains a top issue for voters. Wisconsin, along with states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona could be election deciders in the election on Nov 5.
Harris was put in charge of handling root causes of migration to the southern border in early 2021 as border numbers began to skyrocket. She was eventually dubbed the “border czar” by media outlets and critics — although the White House rejected that title.
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Republicans have hammered Harris on the border, saying it was the rolling back of Trump-era policies that led to the record numbers at the border. They have also pointed to her embrace of left-wing positions in her 2019 presidential bid. Since then, her campaign says her views have been shaped by the current administration, including on decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers.
“Harris can never be forgiven for her erasing our border, and she must never be allowed to become president of the United States,” Trump said in Wisconsin on Sunday.
Harris has sought to present herself as better situated to handle the border. Her campaign has noted a recent drop in border encounters since President Biden signed a presidential proclamation in June limiting asylum entries. She has also thrown her support behind a bipartisan border security bill that would place similar limits on asylum and provide additional funding and detention beds.
Conservatives said that the bill would enshrine high border numbers, but Harris accused Trump of blocking the bill for political purposes. She did so again on a trip to the southern border in Arizona last week.
“He picked up the phone and calls some friends in Congress and said, stop the bill. Because, you see, he prefers to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem,” she said. “And the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games.”
