The presidential campaign focused on Florida on Thursday, as both President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden made in-person plays for the critical battleground state’s voters with just five days remaining until the election.
With Biden taking back a slim lead in Florida polls, the former vice president spoke in Broward County and was scheduled to visit Tampa. Hours before Biden’s planned 6:30 p.m. Eastern drive-in rally in Tampa, Trump was visiting the same city for a rally at Raymond James Stadium. The president is also planning a stop in North Carolina, another battleground, on Thursday night.
| Data point | |
| Polling avg. in top swing states | Biden +3.4 as of Thursday vs. Biden +4.1 a week ago |
| National polling avg. | Biden +7.7 as of Thursday vs. Biden +7.9 a week ago |
| Betting markets | Biden 63.3%, Trump 35.6% as of Thursday vs. Biden 65.6%, Trump 35.4% a week ago |
| S&P 500 | +1.3% Thursday, -1.9% in 1 month |
| CBOE Volatility Index | -9.2% Thursday, +37% in 1 month |
Sources: RealClearPolitics, FactSet
Just before the dueling Florida appearances, Trump had inched ahead of Biden in polls of Sunshine State voters.
As of Thursday, meanwhile, Biden continued to lead in RealClearPolitics’ average of top battleground states, as well as in national polls. Betting markets also show a Biden advantage, though not as much as a week ago.
“Five days from now, we are going to win Florida,” Trump said in Tampa. “We’re going to win four more years.”
“If Florida goes blue, it’s over,” Biden said at his afternoon rally, urging attendees to vote.
The two are campaigning in Florida hours after the government released data showing the U.S. economy expanded by a record 33.1% annual pace in the third quarter, a figure that Trump was quick to tout. “So glad this great GDP number came out before November 3rd,” the president wrote on Twitter.
Yet as MarketWatch writes, the economy is still appreciably smaller now compared to the end of 2019, and a fresh coronavirus outbreak threatens to further choke off growth.
“We are in a deep hole and President Trump’s failure to act has meant that Q3 growth wasn’t nearly enough to get us out,” Biden said in a statement.
U.S. stock indexes climbed after the GDP data and a separate report showing falling jobless claims.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.93% was up in afternoon trading, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.69% and Nasdaq COMP, +2.22% also advanced.
Now read:How Biden’s war chest has eclipsed Trump’s — in one chart
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