HOUSTON — US Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are running neck-and-neck in the 2024 presidential election in key swing states, according to the latest polls released Wednesday by CNN.

As both candidates make a final push to persuade Americans for their votes in the Nov. 5 election, Harris and Trump are intensely focused on the six crucial battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Harris currently leads Trump by a margin of 50% to 44% in Wisconsin and holds a lead in Michigan with 48% compared to Trump’s 43%. Meanwhile, Trump has the advantage in Arizona, securing 49% of the vote among likely voters compared to Harris’s 44%.

However, the competition remains extremely close in the other three swing states. In Georgia and Nevada, Harris holds a razor-thin lead, with 48% of the vote to Trump’s 47%. Both candidates are tied at 47% in Pennsylvania, highlighting the fiercely competitive nature of this race.

Adding further complexity, nearly 15% of likely voters have indicated that they have not yet decided on either candidate, leaving all six swing states up for grabs just nine weeks before Election Day.

The polls, conducted after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, suggest that the path to victory for both candidates runs through Pennsylvania and Georgia. According to the polling data, 16% of voters in Pennsylvania are still undecided or may change their minds by Election Day, with a similar scenario in Georgia, where 12% of voters remain undecided.

Winning all six swing states is critical for both candidates, especially if the 2020 election serves as a guide. President Joe Biden won the last election by sweeping these battleground states, narrowly edging Trump by under 12,000 votes in Georgia and by just over 10,000 votes in Arizona.

For Harris, the keys to victory include holding Biden’s 2020 wins outside of the six swing states, securing victories in Wisconsin and Michigan, and winning Pennsylvania while also gaining a single electoral vote from any other state.

On the other hand, Trump’s path to reclaiming the White House hinges on victories in Georgia and Pennsylvania and securing North Carolina—a state he won in 2020 but is now considered a battleground in 2024. If successful, these wins would provide Trump with enough electoral votes to secure a second term, regardless of the outcomes in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.

As Harris and Trump begin their campaigns in these critical states, they are expected to address the issues most important to voters. According to the polls, 39% of voters identified the economy as their top concern, while 25% cited protecting democracy as their primary issue. Abortion and immigration are also key topics that voters want the candidates to address, setting the stage for a heated final stretch in the race for the presidency. — Agencies