New Fox News polls show Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in reliably red states

Looks like Donald Trump and Fox News are having a bit of a lover's spat. Days after the President rallied against a New York Times poll that showed him trailing far behind Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the six battleground states that clinched his Electoral College victory in 2016, he's been dealt a bigger blow by his favorite new channel. A new poll released by Fox News on Thursday shows the 74-year-old trailing behind his opponent even in more reliably red states—albeit by a slim margin. The latest poll comes less than a week after Trump lashed out at Fox for a previous poll showing Biden in the lead.

The poll released Thursday evening shows Biden ahead in the traditionally ruby red states of Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. The President is reportedly trailing his rival by 9 points in his adopted home state of Florida—a 6 points increase from the 3-point gap in Biden's favor in April. According to The Hill, the former Vice President's lead gets slimmer in Georgia and North Carolina with a 2 point advantage although he has the support of Black voters in both states.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Biden edged ahead of Trump by the razor-thin margin of one point. He leads heavily among Black and Hispanic voters in the state while significantly trailing Trump among whites. This doesn't bode well for Trump's chances of re-election given that he corralled the Lone Star State by 9 points in 2016. "President Trump has always had a bit of trouble connecting with Texas voters, and he is underachieving right now," said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson.

The poll released last week by Fox News found that "Biden supporters are far more likely to say fear that Trump might win is behind their vote choice than to say it is enthusiasm for Biden.  The opposite is true among those backing Trump, as almost twice as many of his supporters say enthusiasm is the motivation rather than fear Biden could win." Shaw stated at the time that while fear is a great motivator, the lack of enthusiasm for Biden still leaves an opening for Trump to pull through.

"Negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and anger, can be powerful motivators for political participation," he said. "The lack of enthusiasm for Biden, however, does create an opening for Trump to define him as out of touch and not up to the task. Trump needs to expand beyond traditional Republican groups and cut Biden’s support among independents. The best news in the poll for the Trump campaign is a significant percentage of independents saying they haven’t decided or are considering a third-party option." Meanwhile, Biden's supporters welcomed further evidence that Biden is pulling away from Trump.

Although a growing number of Democrats see turning Texas blue, many are holding onto the lessons learned from 2016 and urging fellow voters to not let poll results turn them complacent. Despite these promising polls, Biden will need sustained momentum and robust turnout if he hopes to beat Trump.