(NewsMax) Donald Trump holds a 7-point lead over President Joe Biden in key swing states, according to an Echelon Poll released Wednesday.
A full 48% of respondents in swing states said they would probably or definitely vote for Trump, compared with 41% who said they would pick Biden, though Biden is still narrowly favored overall by likely voters, 43%-42%.
Trump’s lead in swing states is further solidified when Green Party candidate Cornel West is involved, with 48% of respondents saying they would pick the former president compared with 40% for Biden.
“There is always a danger a third-party candidate can impact the Electoral College results, particularly if they receive enough votes in a battleground state or states to change the outcome,” David B. Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, told Newsweek.
“In a close election, Cornel West could well be a spoiler.”
“There is no evidence to suggest that the 2024 election will be anything but a very close election decided by razor-thin margins, which means that a third-party candidate could have an outsized influence in the result,” he added.
The report comes as Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign pulled in more than $35 million in the second quarter of fundraising this year, nearly double what the former president raised in the first quarter and since he was indicted on charges he mishandled classified document.
