Democrats received one “key” to President Biden’s incumbency at the start of the cycle, but there has since been a significant change to the ballot.

The 13 “keys” are: party mandate, contest, incumbency, third party, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, social unrest, scandal, foreign/military failure, foreign/military success, incumbent charisma, and challenger charisma.

According to Lichtman’s projection, Democrats currently have six of the thirteen keys, with Harris being the most likely contender.

Three things are in the hands of Republicans: gaining the majority in the House in the 2022 midterm elections; the incumbent not running for reelection; and the incumbent’s lack of charisma.

Although a formal forecast for the 2024 contest has not yet been made, Lichtman told News Nation that he thinks “a lot would have to go wrong for Harris to lose.”

There are still four keys that have not been distributed.

The third-party element is one of the remaining factors, which Lichtman claims is noteworthy considering the position of independent contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the contest.

The concepts of “no social unrest,” “foreign military failure,” and “foreign military success” are likewise up for debate.

By the criteria used by the election prognosticator, Democrats would be considered the “losers” if they were to lose three more keys.

Lichtman accurately projected that Biden would win in 2020 and Trump in 2016.

In a recent national head-to-head survey by Rasmussen Reports, Trump is leading Harris by three percentage points.

“Trump came out ahead 49% to 46%. That amounts to a slight gain for Harris, who was lagging behind Trump 45% to 49% in Rasmussen’s poll last week. When third-party hopefuls were added to the mix, Trump came out on top again with 47% to Harris’ 45%, followed by independent contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at 4%, and all others at 1% or less, per Rasmussen,” the New York Post reported.

“Rasmussen’s findings are an outlier among recent national polling. The conservative-leaning firm has often been at odds with other top pollsters. In 2016, it was among the closest firms to the final result. Harris is averaging a two-point lead over Trump in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of a national five-way race. In a two-way race, her lead slips to 1.5 percentage points,” the Post added.

The race for battleground state polling has also become much more competitive, with several firms obtaining varying results in the major races.

Harris is still behind Trump, though.

Trump is predicted to receive 287 Electoral College votes to Harris’ 251 in the battleground state estimate by RealClearPolitics, taking all of the big swing states except Wisconsin.

Lately, polling has been good for Trump.

Trump appears to have retaken his lead in polling after an initial surge in support for Vice President Kamala Harris following President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign in July.

Harris has enjoyed a solid month of favorable reporting in most mainstream media outlets — all of which lean to the left on their editorial pages — while Trump’s coverage has been proportionally negative.

According to Axios, previous polling by the Cook Political Report published last week showed Harris leading Trump in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Similarly, a New York Times/Siena College poll released last week found Harris with a narrow lead in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

However, a more recent survey by Navigator Research, published Tuesday, indicates that the race is essentially tied in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Individually, Trump leads Harris by one percentage point in Arizona (46% to 45%) and by two points in Pennsylvania (46% to 44%), while the other three states are in a dead heat.

The Navigator survey is consistent with the RealClearPolitics Polling average of battleground states, which also includes Nevada and Georgia.