Kamala Harris Surges Ahead of Trump in New Poll Following Biden’s Exit
Vice President Kamala Harris is showing a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump in a national presidential poll released Tuesday, marking one of the first major surveys since President Joe Biden’s announcement that he is exiting the 2024 race.
According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, Harris leads Trump by two percentage points, 44% to 42%. This poll was conducted in the days following Biden’s Sunday announcement that he was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Harris as his successor.
In the previous week’s poll, Harris, 59, and Trump, 78, were tied at 44%.
Harris, who is now the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, is also trailing Trump by a narrow margin in another poll released Tuesday. Both surveys fall within their respective margins of error, indicating a tightly contested race.
The new polls come on the heels of significant political events, including the Republican National Convention where Trump officially accepted the party’s nomination, and Biden’s departure from the race.
Harris’s performance, buoyed by heightened Democratic enthusiasm following Biden’s exit, suggests she has managed to counteract the typical post-convention bounce usually enjoyed by a nominee.
In a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll conducted Monday, Trump narrowly leads Harris with 46% to 45% among U.S. registered voters, with 9% still undecided. When including third-party or independent candidates, Trump and Harris are tied at 42%, with other candidates trailing significantly.
The PBS News survey also revealed that 87% of Americans believe Biden’s decision to step down was the right move, a sentiment that transcends partisan and generational lines. Additionally, 41% of respondents think Biden’s withdrawal improves the Democrats’ chances in November, compared to 24% who believe it diminishes their prospects and 34% who see no impact.
These results follow an unexpected assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13. An average of polls compiled by RealClearPolitics shows Trump maintaining a narrow 1.6-point lead over Harris.
