The Presidential election 2024 It clearly remains a contest that either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris can win, as the latest CBS News poll shows.

But with rising interest rates and gas prices downThe number of voters who say the economy is in good shape has increased. This, and a debate that voters said was generally positive for her, has helped Harris a little.

The Vice President is now at the very edge of the Swing States – contested states (last month it was 50-50) and she is now 4 points ahead of Donald Trump nationwide.

Harris performs better among voters who have a positive view of the national economy and their personal financial situation.

And she’s winning voters who say the economy is at least getting better, if not already good. She’s winning voters who specifically say that gas prices are going down in their area.

But the challenge for them remains that despite the improvements, many voters still don’t think things are good. And those who don’t believe that are voting for Trump.

But overall, Harris has narrowed her gap with Trump among those who see the economy as a decisive factor.

The debate appears to have helped solidify their support: among those who said the debate increased their likelihood of supporting it, almost all voted for President Biden in 2020.

Voting on personal characteristics or political principles

After the debate, impressions of the candidates show that there are clear divisions within the electorate.

Harris is voted for by people who value a candidate’s personal qualities – she is clearly superior to Trump in terms of personal popularity.

The opinion that political action is very important is evenly divided.

And many of Trump’s voters don’t like him personally, but prioritize his policies over his personal qualities.

Trump’s base continues to stand behind him, and that support includes agreement with what he claimed about Immigrants who eat domestic dogs and cats.

Most voters think the claims about eating pets are false, but a large majority of Trump supporters say they are probably or certainly true. (The claims were exposed.)

The majority of voters disapprove of Trump’s claims, but two-thirds of Trump voters approve of them.

However, they describe this as “probably” rather than “certainly,” and that label could mean something less literal. His supporters see him as addressing what they see as a larger issue, namely immigration and its impact on the country.

In general, Trump’s voters overwhelmingly believe that immigrants make American society worse and would overwhelmingly support his idea of ​​deporting people living in the United States illegally. More than half of all voters also support this idea.

Perceptions of immigrants generally divide coalitions sharply: Trump wins voters who believe immigrants commit more crime and take jobs away from citizens. Harris wins voters who believe immigrants fill jobs Americans don’t want to do and are part of what makes America special.

Violence and threats to democracy

More voters say Republican supporters use rhetoric that could encourage violence than say Democratic supporters. But the prevailing view is that such rhetoric comes from “both” sides.

The apparent assassination attempt in Florida against the former president has likely strengthened some of Trump’s supporters, as those who say it would make them more likely to vote for Trump had already overwhelmingly supported him in 2020.

Neither side is particularly optimistic about defeat: Most Harris supporters believe the nation will face a greater threat of violence if Trump is elected, and most Trump supporters believe the nation will face a greater threat of violence if Harris is elected.

Either way, both sides agree that the tone and civility of American politics as a whole have deteriorated.

Political violence is related to the idea of ​​democracy in a broader sense, which includes the notion that people can resolve their differences peacefully through a process.

Both sides believe that democracy in general is in danger, but this has been the case in our polls for some time and is not a new phenomenon in this election campaign.

This CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted with a representative sample of 3,129 registered voters nationwide, surveyed between September 18 and 20, 2024. The sample was weighted by gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as past election results. Respondents were selected to be representative of registered voters nationwide. The margin of error for registered voters is ±2.2 points. The battleground states are AZ, GA, MI, NC, NV, PA, and WI.