CNN’s Harry Enten Says One Major Issue Keeping Trump and Harris From Winning All-Important Undecided Voters: ‘Good Luck’

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten showed on Tuesday that undecided voters are at a historic low in this presidential election, but there’s a major obstacle both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have to overcome to win over a small block of voters that could “make all the difference” in November.

Enten reported on Tuesday, based on an aggregation of national polls, that the number of undecided voters at this point in the election is the lowest it has been this century. Just 4% are undecided between Harris and Trump, while 8% were undecided in 2020, and 10% were undecided at the same point in 2016, both elections Trump was running in.

Enten reported:

It’s kind of hard to believe, but the bottom line is that 4%, 4% in the average of polls, 4% of voters say that they are undecided. That is just half the level that we saw in 2020, well, less than the 10% we saw at this point in 2016. So the bottom line is, in this particular election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are focusing their attention on this tiny, tiny sliver, much lower than we’re used to. In fact, it’s the lowest level of undecideds that we’ve seen in polling at this point, this entire 21st century.

Enten explained that the major struggle both Harris and Trump face is that many of these undecided viewers do not have a “top issue.”

According to a New York Times/Siena College poll taken this month, 30% of undecided voters pointed to the economy as the top issue, but 28% said they have no top issue. Enten added:

What are their top issues? Well, perhaps not surprisingly, 30% say the economy, inflation, that’s number one. But number two, they actually don’t have a top issue. 28% say there is no top issue, which perhaps isn’t so surprising given that they’re probably not as tuned into politics. They might care more about the characteristics of the candidates themselves rather than the issues that they represent. But I think that you get this large chunk of undecideds, right, that the large chunk within the undecideds who say there’s no top issue. That, of course, makes it difficult for the campaigns to go after them because what exactly are you going to talk about to the folks who say, wait a minute, we don’t have a top issue?

The data reporter pointed to one more area that makes predicting the movement of this small group of voters difficult — that they don’t see this election as being as consequential as Trump or Harris voters.

According to the Times/Siena data, 72% of Trump supporters believe this election is the most important that they will vote in during their lifetimes, while 70% of Harris backers believe the same. Among undecided voters, just 24% believe it is the most important election of their lives.

Enten concluded:

What’s the deal? Well, I think this might sort of get at it. 2024 is the most important election of my life. 72% of Trump backers say it is. 70% of Harris backers say it is. But just 24% of undecideds say it is. So the bottom line is they don’t actually think there’s that much on the line going on here. And that is, I think, part of the reason why they’re willing to step back and just say, you know what, I don’t really necessarily like either of these folks. I don’t think this is the most important election. So, you know, I’m going to continue to be undecided. Of course, there’s just 4% of them, but that 4% is going to make all the difference in the world come November.

Watch above via CNN.

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