Post-RNC poll shows Biden still ahead, but Trump gaining ground

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden maintains his polling lead over President Donald Trump, though the commander in chief gained ground on the former vice president after the party conventions, according to a Morning Consult poll released Saturday.

According to the poll, Biden leads Trump by six points, polling 50% to Trump's 44% among likely voters, compared to 52% to 42% before the Republican National Convention, but after the Democratic National Convention.

The poll was conducted Friday, the day after the RNC concluded. The poll showing Biden with a 10-point lead was conducted August 23, after the DNC.

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A Morning Consult survey taken on the first day of the DNCfound Biden leading Trump by eight points, compared to nine points immediately after the DNC, in a poll conducted August 22.

Biden's standing was virtually unchanged before and after his convention, while Trump's improved. This parallels Morning Consult's polling from 2016, when Trump gained five percentage points of voter support after the RNC.

Morning Consult noted, however, that the major difference between this year and 2016 is the smaller number of undecided voters left on the table.

"Due to a smaller share of undecided voters, Biden, who continues to have about half of the electorate’s support, remains in a significantly stronger position than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was four years ago," Morning Consult reported.

Only about 7% of respondents said they were undecided after this year's conventions, compared to 16% at the same point in 2016.

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The poll also noted a slightly stronger divide along racial lines: Trump improved his lead among white voters, and emerged with a slightly worse standing with voters of color.

Among white voters, Trump led Biden 51% to 43% after the RNC, compared with a 2-point edge earlier in the week.

In contrast, he trailed Biden by 28 points among Hispanic voters (33% to 61%) and 74 points among Black voters (9% to 83%).

The poll also noted that Trump hurt Biden's margin among suburban voters. Before the convention, Biden led by 14 points (54% to 40%), compared to 8 points after the convention (50% to 42%).

"The president and his allies also sought to claim the mantle of the party of law and order and a last line of defense against a creeping radical socialism from the Democratic Party, messaging largely aimed at white people and suburbanites, who will be key for the president in order to win in November," the poll noted.

Trump tweeted Saturday "Biden's Polls are dropping fast," and knocked the former vice president's campaign.

"Now that Biden’s Polls are dropping fast, he has agreed to get out of his basement and start campaignin,'in ten days.' Sadly, that is a very slow reaction time for a President. Our beloved USA needs a much faster, smarter, and tougher response than that. Get out there today, Joe!" Trump wrote.

Trump was referring to Biden’s campaign announcing Thursday that he would resume physically campaigning after Labor Day.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the campaign has held virtual events instead of in-person ones.

Friday's poll was conducted among 4,035 likely voters with a 2-point margin of error, and the August 23 poll was conducted among 4,810 likely voters with a 1-point margin of error.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Morning Consult poll shows Biden still ahead, but Trump gains ground