A new Morning Consult poll finds Vice President Harris leading in the vote with the support of nearly two-thirds of Democrats, and she is four points ahead of Biden’s performance against Trump.
According to Morning Consult:
– Sixty-five percent of Democratic voters support Harris leading the party ticket, more than double her hypothetical support rate on the same issue after the first presidential debate late last month.
– In a hypothetical head-to-head survey conducted after Biden announced his decision to step down, former President Donald Trump leads Harris by 2 points, 47% to 45%, marking the sixth point Biden faces in our survey The percentage point lead improved.
– Democratic voters are more likely than Republican voters (27% vs. 24%) to say they are “more motivated” to engage in the political process this election season following Biden’s decision, reflecting a growing gap between Biden and Republican voters The gap between Trump and Trump’s respective 2020 supporters (26% vs. 23%).
Harris has been a candidate for less than a day and she has already narrowed the gap with Trump.
Polls are extremely unreliable, but if we look at the movement, we see a clear trend in Harris’ favor. This poll was conducted immediately after Biden’s announcement, so there will certainly be some shock and hurt feelings among Democrats, but those should dissipate and the Democratic Party will emerge more united in the coming days.
Once the Democratic Party is fully unified, it is reasonable to expect that Vice President Harris will lead slightly or be tied with Trump.
The momentum has shifted toward Democrats. The question now is how far they can go.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association
