HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) -- The latest poll released from Emerson College shows the two presidential candidates just a few percentage points apart in key battleground states, including North Carolina. The numbers show Vice President Kamala Harris with 49% of the votes and former President Donald Trump with 48% of the votes. That leaves just three percent of voters undecided. That small percentage of voters will be the ones that decide this election in November. “While we are jockeying back with one percentage point here, one percentage point there, we are still within the margin of error. This is a dead heat race, and it could go either direction,” said Dr. Brandon Lenior, a political science professor at High Point University. Lenior says the latest numbers continue to show North Carolina will be an important factor in the race. “With a state with the separation between the votes is within the thousands, turning out to vote is very important, and that is why we are going hear a lot from the two campaigns ... trying to get us to turn out to vote because every vote is going to make a difference in this race,” Lenior said. As the gap continues to tighten between the candidates. it’s unclear if Harris’ momentum from taking over the top of the ticket will wear off before election day. “She is still a relatively new candidate in the eyes of many voters ... She is riding on a wave right now ... Is it peaking now or is she continuing to ride that wave to election day?” Lenior said. The number one issue across all swing states, including North Carolina, is the economy. That’s followed by immigration and housing affordability. “When you look at the economy and the fact that prices have gone up ... due to inflation that affects people in the pocketbook, so they are paying close attention to where the candidates stand on inflation and what they are going to do to bring those prices down,” Lenior said. He expects the polling data will not change much in the next month and a half leading up to election day. The race will likely be tight until the end.