Harris leads Trump nationally; key battleground states remain close

ILLINOIS - The race for the White House continues to get more and more competitive as battleground states become the focus of both candidates. 

All eyes are on the Midwestern swing states as the campaigns criss-cross the country, seeking every advantage they can get. 

New national polling from Marquette University shows Harris opening up a 52% to 48% lead nationally over Donald Trump. 

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in the swing state of Arizona on Friday. She and newly-minted running mate Tim Walz have barnstormed the Midwest all week, making multiple stops in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. 

Recent polling average from 538.com has them in a near dead heat in the states that will decide the election. 

Right now, Harris leads Michigan by two, Pennsylvania by one, Wisconsin by 1.8. Meanwhile, Trump leads Arizona by .5 and Georgia by half a percentage point as well.

Harris, who has avoided interviews since her nomination, briefly took questions on Friday on an airport tarmac in Detroit. 

She weighed in on Republican attacks on Walz' record in the Army National Guard. 

"I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country and I think that we all should," Harris said. "I've talked to my team. I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month." 

Trump has largely stayed off the trial, choosing to try and revive moment in a winding press conference on Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago home, attacking Harris for having yet to do a formal press conference. 

"She's not smart enough to do a news conference and I'm sorry, we need smart people to lead this country… both economically and from an outside perspective," Trump said.

As of now, both sides have tentatively agreed to a September 10th debate, with Trump vowing to commit to two others.