Kamala Harris Leads Trump As Democratic Convention Begins Tonight (image @KamalaHarris)

Kamala Harris holds a narrow lead over Republican candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential race, as per Washington Post – ABC News – Ipsos poll. The Vice-President is leading with 49-45 percent among registered voters and 51-45 percent among likely voters in a two-way race. Though the points are small, it is a notable improvement for the Democrats in the upcoming election. The new lead was shown a month after polls had shown then-Presidential nominee, Joe Biden and Trump ended up in stalemate.

Harris’ lead gives a significant boost to the Democrats ahead of their national convention, opinion polling show, which is scheduled to begin tonight. The latest result shows that Harris’s late entry into the race has energised Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters after months of poor polling for Biden, who dropped his re-election bid last month over concerns about his fitness to serve a second term.

While Harris stands at 49 percent, Trump is close behind with 45 percent, shows the survey. If third-party candidates are included, Harris is at 47 percent, Trump at 44 percent and Robert F Kennedy Jr at 5 percent.

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Last month, Trump was leading with 43 percent, and Biden was at 42 percent. Kennedy was at 9 percent.

A day before flying down to Chicago for the national convention, Harris held several campaign events in Pennsylvania, whose 20 electoral votes flipped from Trump to Biden in 2020.

She said, “We have a lot of work to do to earn the vote of the American people. That’s why we’re on this bus tour today and we’re going to be travelling this country as we’ve been and talking with folks, listening to folks and hopefully earning their votes over the next 79 days”.

A day before Harris’ speech, Trump criticised the Vice President on inflation and her previous opposition to fracking, which is popular in the state. He also launched a series of personal attacks Harris. “People say, ‘Be nice’. Have you heard her laugh? That is the laugh of a crazy person… It’s the laugh of a lunatic”, said Trump.

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Though Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, were formally nominated in a roll-call vote earlier this month, the four-day convention will kick off on Monday night will give Democrats an opportunity to display unity and churn up enthusiasm among voters.

Biden, former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Michelle Obama are among the Democratic heavy weights scheduled to address the convention.

At the same time, dozens of Democratic delegates who call themselves “Delegates Against Genocide”, said they will use the convention to press for an embargo on US arms sales to Israel.

Last month, the Democrats’ draft platform called for an immediate ceasefire in the war, without mentioning the Palestinian death toll or calling for a halt to US arms shipments to Israel.