Skip to content

Biden vs Trump: US presidential election 2020 poll tracker

See how state-by-state polls translate into electoral college votes and use the FT’s interactive calculator to zero in on the battlegrounds

Last updated
Polling data by state
The latest polls suggest this outcome in the electoral college:Chart of electoral college votes based on polling averages. 203 votes are solidly for Biden, and 49 leaning Biden. 77 votes are solidly for Trump, and 48 leaning Trump. 161 are a toss-up.252Joe BidenDEMOCRAT125Donald TrumpREPUBLICAN270 to win203491614877

With polls now closed in some states, results of the 2020 presidential election are coming in.

On November 3, the day of the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic party nominee Joe Biden was polling narrowly ahead of incumbent Republican president Donald Trump in key battleground states, although his lead had narrowed since earlier in the campaign.

The crucial state of Pennsylvania slipped back into the "toss-up" category when an election-eve poll reduced Mr Biden’s lead in the FT’s average of recent polls to just below five points.

Some of the closest races were in states Mr Trump won in 2016. In five states — Ohio, Iowa, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida — the FT’s polling average showed the candidates within two percentage points of each other.

Other battlegrounds include Arizona, a state only one Democratic presidential candidate has won in the past 70 years, but where Mr Biden led by just under two points on election day, and Texas, where Mr Trump led by just over two points. In Nevada, which Hillary Clinton won in 2016, Mr Biden led by just 3.2 points.

In Michigan and Wisconsin, where Mr Trump won by razor thin margins in 2016, polls in 2020 showed Mr Biden leading by more than seven percentage points.

More than 100m Americans cast their ballots through postal and early voting, pointing to a record turnout. In Texas and Hawaii, the number of ballots cast early was higher than the entire vote tally in 2016, while turnout in key states like Florida and North Carolina was already above 90 per cent of the 2016 total before election day.

HowBidenandTrumpare pollingin the closest statesStatesElectoralvotesAverage poll margin(percentage points)Kansas: 6 electoral votes, Trump leads by 9.6 percentage points.Utah: 6 electoral votes, Trump leads by 9.3 percentage points.Montana: 3 electoral votes, Trump leads by 7.8 percentage points.Indiana: 11 electoral votes, Trump leads by 7.2 percentage points.South Carolina: 9 electoral votes, Trump leads by 6.8 percentage points.Missouri: 10 electoral votes, Trump leads by 6.2 percentage points.Texas: 38 electoral votes, Trump leads by 2.1 percentage points.Ohio: 18 electoral votes, Trump leads by 0.7 percentage points.Georgia: 16 electoral votes, Trump leads by 0.3 percentage points.Iowa: 6 electoral votes, Trump leads by 0.1 percentage points.North Carolina: 15 electoral votes, Biden leads by 1.4 percentage points.Arizona: 11 electoral votes, Biden leads by 1.8 percentage points.Maine (District 2): 1 electoral votes, Biden leads by 1.9 percentage points.Florida: 29 electoral votes, Biden leads by 2 percentage points.Nevada: 6 electoral votes, Biden leads by 3.2 percentage points.Nebraska (District 2): 1 electoral votes, Biden leads by 4.1 percentage points.Pennsylvania: 20 electoral votes, Biden leads by 4.9 percentage points.Minnesota: 10 electoral votes, Biden leads by 5.5 percentage points.Michigan: 16 electoral votes, Biden leads by 7.4 percentage points.Wisconsin: 10 electoral votes, Biden leads by 7.5 percentage points.New Hampshire: 4 electoral votes, Biden leads by 9.3 percentage points.Colorado: 9 electoral votes, Biden leads by 9.5 percentage points.Includes states with more than one recent poll and an average poll marginof less than 10 percentage points.

National polls have consistently shown Mr Biden at a significant advantage. On the morning of election day, the FT’s poll average showed him leading by 8.1 percentage points.

White seniors in particular, a group that helped propel Mr Trump to victory in 2016, have shown signs of disapproval towards the president's handling of the pandemic. Mr Biden holds a substantial lead among Latino voters, a growing demographic in swing states like Arizona and Florida, but some polls suggest he is less popular with Latino voters than either Barack Obama in 2012 or Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Line chart showing how Trump and Biden are doing in the US national polls

The coronavirus has realigned voters’ concerns and behaviour. For recent developments in voter sentiment, see the monthly FT-Peterson Economic Monitor.

Methodology

The FT poll tracker is based on data from Real Clear Politics. We calculate poll averages for Biden and Trump in each state using an exponential decay formula, which gives more weight to recent polls. We then use these averages to determine whether a state is ‘solid’, ‘leaning’, or a ‘toss-up’. States where the difference between the two candidates is more than 10 percentage points are classified as ‘solid’, while those with a difference of less than 5 percentage points are classified as ‘toss-up’ states. If a state has less than two polls in the past 60 days, we use the Cook Political Report Electoral College Ratings to categorise it. We consider Cook’s ‘likely’ and ‘lean’ states ‘leaning’ in our classification. Historical results data comes from the Federal Election Commission and Daily Kos. For several hours on June 23, we included states with only one poll.

Most states use a ‘winner-takes-all’ method to allocate electoral college votes: the winner of the state’s popular vote receives all of its electoral votes. In Maine and Nebraska, however, the winner in each congressional district receives one electoral vote and the statewide winner is awarded two electoral votes.

Polls collected byRealClearPolitics

US pollsters have attempted to correct methods that underestimated Mr Trump’s support in some states in 2016. Still, many Americans, including supporters of Mr Biden, are apt to mistrust the polls, especially at the state level.

Poll averages are just one way to estimate the state of the race, and can create potential outliers in states that do not have regular surveys. Do you think the polls are making wrong predictions in the most important states? Use our interactive calculator below to select who you think will win each state.

Key presidential races calculator

Joe Biden and Donald Trump each need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Most states are leaning or solidly in favour of one candidate, but in some states the race is too close to call. These toss-up states are ranked below, with the closest races shown first. Which way do you think they will vote?

Select a winner in each state to see the potential paths to victory for Biden or Trump

You have not selected an outcome in enough states for either Biden or Trump to secure an electoral college majority. Please choose a winner in more states to see which candidate will get to 270 electoral votes.

Iowa
6 Votes
2020 polls
Trump +0.1
2016 result
Trump +9.4
2012
Obama +5.8
Georgia
16 Votes
2020 polls
Trump +0.3
2016 result
Trump +5.1
2012
Romney +7.8
Ohio
18 Votes
2020 polls
Trump +0.7
2016 result
Trump +8.1
2012
Obama +3
2020 polls
Biden +1.4
2016 result
Trump +3.7
2012
Romney +2
Arizona
11 Votes
2020 polls
Biden +1.8
2016 result
Trump +3.5
2012
Romney +9.1
2020 polls
Biden +1.9
2016 result
Trump +10.3
2012
Obama +8.6
Florida
29 Votes
2020 polls
Biden +2
2016 result
Trump +1.2
2012
Obama +0.9
Texas
38 Votes
2020 polls
Trump +2.1
2016 result
Trump +9
2012
Romney +15.8
Nevada
6 Votes
2020 polls
Biden +3.2
2016 result
Clinton +2.4
2012
Obama +6.7
2020 polls
Biden +4.1
2016 result
Trump +2.2
2012
Romney +7.1
Pennsylvania
20 Votes
2020 polls
Biden +4.9
2016 result
Trump +0.7
2012
Obama +5.4
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2021. All rights reserved.