Biden makes major gains with crucial voting group ahead of 1st debate with Trump: poll

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President Biden has significantly improved his standing with independent voters, a group crucial to winning in key battleground states this November, a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll has found less than 10 days from the first presidential debate.

Biden overcame a 12-percentage point deficit among independents and now leads Trump 50%-48% with the group compared to a previous NPR/PBS News/ Marist poll taken in May.

Trump, however, maintains a slight one percentage point lead (50%-49%) in a head-to-head matchup among voters who say they definitely plan to vote in the November general election, but the two are tied 49%-49% among overall registered voters, including those who say they are undecided but are leaning toward a candidate.

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Trump's overall lead over Biden stays at one percentage point (42%-41%) with the inclusion of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (11%) and Dr. Cornel West (3%), as well as Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein (1%) and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver (1%).

White voters favor Trump 55%-43%, while non-White voters favor Biden 58%-40%. The two are tied at 50% each with voters under the age of 45, but Trump holds a slight advantage (49%-48%) with voters over the age of 45.

Voters believe Trump would better handle the