Local Pollsters explain why New York and New Jersey shifted toward Trump in 2024

Pollsters are still sorting through much of the data from the 2024 election. But locally, one thing is clear: Donald Trump improved his standing in big Democratic states like California and New York, where his share of the electorate went up 6 points to 44%. And in neighboring New Jersey, Vice President Kamala Harris beat Trump by only 5 points. 

Patrick Murray is the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Don Levy is the director of the Siena College Research Institute in Albany. Murray and Levy talked with WNYC's Sean Carlson about what this year’s results might mean.