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By Flynn Nicholls
US News Reporter
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A new national poll has Kamala Harris 16 points ahead of Donald Trump among Independents, a key demographic to deciding the next president.
The poll was conducted by TIPP Insights for Issue & Insights between October 2 and October 4. It surveyed 997 voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percent. Of respondents, 49 percent said they would vote for Harris and 46 percent said they would vote for Trump.
But among Independents, Democratic presidential candidate Harris received 52 percent of the vote, Republican candidate Trump received 36 percent, 10 percent were not sure, and 2 percent said they would vote for somebody else.
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Independents are a critical voting block for both Vice President Harris and former president Trump to win over ahead of the November election, which is likely to be determined by close votes in just a handful of key battleground states. Small swings in independent voters could determine whether these states are won by either candidate.
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Four years ago in October 2020, a month out from the election, Joe Biden led Trump among independents by a similar margin to Harris's current lead with independents, and went on to win the election.
An IBD/TIPP poll from October 2020 showed Biden leading Trump among independents by 9 points, with Biden at 48 percent and Trump at 39 percent.
Voters in this month's TIPP Insights poll were also asked who they thought would win: 44 percent said Harris would win, 38 percent said Trump, 14 percent said it was too close to call, and 4 percent said they did not know.
When asked about specific issues, Trump led on "improving national security" (Trump 50 percent, Harris 45 percent), "lowering the national debt" (Trump 46 percent, Harris 44 percent), "growing the economy" (Trump 49 percent, Harris 48 percent), "securing the border" (Trump 54 percent, Harris 41 percent), "reducing crime" (Trump 48 percent, Harris 46 percent), and "implementing a strong foreign policy" (Trump 50 percent, Harris 46 percent).
Trump and Harris tied on two issues: "cutting spending," on 46 percent, and "cutting inflation," on 47 percent. But Harris leads on just two issues, "ensuring energy security/energy independence" (Harris 48 percent, Trump 47 percent) and "reducing taxes" (Harris 48 percent, Trump 45 percent).
Despite Harris's lead among independents, the race is still very close. With 31 days left until Election Day, Harris is up 2.6 percentage points nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight. RealClearPolling has Harris up 2.1 points over Trump.
Veteran Democratic strategist Matt Bennett previously told Newsweek that despite having entered the race incredibly late, inheriting a campaign that she didn't build and having almost no opportunity to introduce herself or carve out her own political persona, "it's remarkable that Harris is in as GOOD a position as she's in."
Newsweek has contacted Trump's and Harris' campaigns for comment.
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