A new poll shows that more Democrats support Vice President Kamala Harris, the presidential candidate most likely to face President Donald Trump in November, than support President Biden.
About 91% of Democratic voters said they had a favorable view of Harris, 59, and 80% said they had a similar impression of Biden, 81. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Harris was endorsed by Biden to run for the White House after he gave up his reelection bid on Sunday amid growing pressure for Biden to step down.
Harris has secured enough delegate support to secure the Democratic presidential nomination, but no formal votes have yet been cast.
A new poll conducted Monday and Tuesday also found Harris leading Republican candidate and former President Trump in national surveys, 44% to 42%, within a margin of error of less than three percentage points.
A July 15-16 poll (before Biden withdrew) had the vice presidential candidate tied with the 78-year-old Trump at 44% in a theoretical matchup. A July 1-2 poll had Trump leading by one point.
Trump campaign pollsters on Tuesday dismissed the slight uptick in Harris’ approval ratings, saying widespread media attention would likely give her a temporary boost.
“This uptick will begin to emerge in the coming days and will continue for some time,” pollster Tony Fabrizio said in a note to reporters.
But in a hypothetical three-way race that included independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Ms. Harris was leading Mr. Trump 42 percent to 38 percent, according to a Reuters poll.
Kennedy is polling at 8% support, even though he is not yet eligible to vote in many states before November.
The poll also found that some 56% of registered voters agreed that Ms Harris is “mentally astute and able to handle challenges”, while 49% said the same about Mr Trump.
Just 22% of voters rated Biden that way.
The online poll surveyed 1,241 adults nationwide, including 1,018 registered voters.
Various recent polls show Trump leading Harris 48% to 46%. New York Times Sunday poll average.
With post wire
