Introducing Our 2024 Poll Tracker

What do the polls say about the race for the White House?

With less than five months to go, new poll averages from The New York Times, which debut today, show a very close race nationally and in the critical battleground states.

On average, the recent national polls show President Biden and Donald J. Trump each winning about 46 percent of the vote in a head-to-head race. They are essentially tied as they approach their first debate Thursday night.

A close race is a slight improvement for Mr. Biden. He’s trailed in other polling averages — even if only narrowly — on almost every single day of the last nine months. But he narrowed his deficit in the wake of the State of the Union and with the clinching of the nominations in March. He’s closed the gap entirely since Mr. Trump’s felony conviction in New York.

The race is also close in key battleground states, but here Mr. Trump is slightly ahead in the most recent polls. While he often leads by only a point or two, he does nonetheless hold the edge in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia — states that would be enough for Mr. Trump to win the Electoral College and therefore the presidency.