According to a new poll, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leads her Republican opponent Donald Trump in three crucial battleground states that will be significant in the forthcoming US election.

According to a poll conducted on Saturday by the New York Times and Siena College, voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin gave Harris 50% of the vote, while Trump received 46% of the vote in each state.

The findings come just weeks after Harris launched her push for the White House following US President Joe Biden’s decision last month to drop out of the race over concerns about his age and ability to serve another term in office.

Since Harris formally launched her campaign, the US vice president has secured strong backing from key segments of the Democratic Party’s base – notably young voters and people of colour – as well as donors and top Democratic lawmakers.

Her decision to name Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate this week also spurred a new wave of enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket.

But the Biden administration’s staunch support for Israel amid the Gaza war continues to be a point of criticism, notably in Michigan, a critical swing state that is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the US.

During a rally in Detroit this week, Harris rebuffed a group of protesters that had interrupted her speech to demand an end to the war.

“You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking,” she told the demonstrators, drawing widespread criticism from Palestinian rights advocates and other progressives.

But days later, at a rally in Arizona on Friday, Harris changed her tone when she met more protests over Gaza.

“The president and I are working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home. I respect your voices, but we are here to now talk about the race in 2024,” she said.

Advocates have urged Harris to break from Biden’s staunch support for Israel, calling on her to end weapons shipments to the US ally amid the Gaza war, among other measures.

Since entering the race, Harris also has faced a barrage of attacks from Trump, the former president and Republican 2024 presidential candidate, and his running mate, JD Vance.

Asked on Thursday how he has altered his approach to the new challenge from Harris, Trump insisted he has not done so.

In a question-and-answer session with reporters that lasted longer than an hour, Trump claimed Harris and Walz were weak candidates who were already dropping in the polls.

Despite that, he lamented that he would not be able to face Biden in the election, suggesting that the president was a victim of an unconstitutional plot to dislodge him from atop the Democratic ticket.

Trump’s campaign has slammed the Harris-Walz campaign as “every American’s nightmare” and the former president has personally attacked Harris’s intelligence and racial background.

“She’s not doing any news conferences,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “She doesn’t know how to do a news conference. She’s not smart enough to do a news conference.”