Republicans are getting very nervous about the polls. Democrats are, too.


"President Donald Trump is running out of time to recover from a series of self-inflicted setbacks that have rattled his base of support and triggered alarm among Republicans who fear the White House is on the verge of being lost to Democrat Joe Biden," The Associated Press reports. "The one-two punch of Trump's coronavirus diagnosis and his widely panned debate performance also has Republicans worried they could lose control of the Senate."
A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Sunday showed Biden winning by 12 percentage points among likely voters, 54 percent to 42 percent, outside the ± 4-point margin of error. RealClearPolitics' national polling average has Biden up 9.8 points (51.9 to 42.1 percent) and the FiveThirtyEight average recorded Biden leading by 10.4 points (52.2 to 41.9 percent). Some key swing states are a little bit tighter, but FiveThirtyEight also has Biden at 86 in 100 odds to win the Electoral College.
Optimists in Trump's inner circle note Trump's unique ability to command attention, argue that the polls are undercounting Trump voters, and point to Trump's come-from-behind victory in 2016. "If we believe public media polls, then we would be talking about Hillary Clinton's re-election right now," Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told AP.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"This year's campaign, other Republicans worry, may instead resemble 1980 or 2008: a close race until, at the end, it decidedly wasn't," AP reports. "Some Trump allies say their best bet is to hope that the results look close election night, before some of the mail-in ballots are counted, allowing Trump to declare victory and have the results thrown to the courts."
"He's in trouble, there's no question," former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer told AP. "By every traditional measuring stick, this looks like a Biden landslide." On Monday, Biden is campaigning in Ohio, a state Trump won easily in 2016. But, of course, nothing has been very conventional this year — or for the previous four years. And Democrats, habitually nervous, are not taking this for granted. "While the state of the race looks promising," AP reports, "Democrats know that three weeks add up to an eternity in the age of Trump."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Israel detains director after West Bank settler clash
speed read The director of Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land' was arrested and beaten
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Turkey arrests Istanbul mayor, a top Erdogan rival
Speed Read Protests erupted in Turkey after authorities detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel strikes Gaza, breaking ceasefire
Speed Read 326 Palestinians were killed in the first major attack since Netanyahu's government signed a ceasefire agreement with Hamas
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Houthis vow retaliation amid US airstrikes
Speed Read Trump promises the US will use 'overwhelming lethal force' against the Houthis until they stop attacking Red Sea ships
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pakistan train hostage standoff ends in bloodshed
Speed Read Pakistan's military stormed a train hijacked by separatist militants, killing 33 attackers and rescuing hundreds of hostages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published