Campaign

Favorable views of Harris rising before convention: Polling

by Miranda Nazzaro - 08/19/24 8:16 AM ET

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris greets attendees after speaking about the administration's efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Md., Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. — Susan Walsh, Associated Press file
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Harris greets attendees after speaking about the administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs during an event at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., Aug. 15, 2024.

Vice President Harris is experiencing a boost in favorability among Americans ahead of this week’s Democratic National Convention, according to a new poll.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, published Monday, found 48 percent of U.S. adults now have a very or somewhat favorable view of Harris.

That is 9 points higher than her rating at the beginning of the summer, before President Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed her as his successor. It is also higher than Biden’s favorability rating of 38 percent before he dropped out of the race.

Additionally, Harris is viewed more favorably than Trump, who has a 41 percent rating.

The Associated Press noted the rise in favorability for Harris comes as more Americans form an opinion about her since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket. The portion of those who do not know enough about her to have an opinion has reduced by half, from 12 percent in June to 6 percent in the latest poll, it said.

The poll is the latest to suggest Harris’s entrance into the race quickly sparked energy for the Democratic Party following a tumultuous few weeks ahead of Biden’s withdrawal.

When it comes to demographics and political affiliations, Harris experienced slight increases in favorability among Democrats, independents, women and adults younger than 30, the AP noted.

No significant change was observed among Black or Hispanic adults, two key voting groups to the Democratic Party’s base.

In addition to favorability, Harris has closed the gap with Trump in numerous national and swing-state polls. According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling average, she has a 1.8 percentage point lead over Trump based on an aggregate of 120 polls.

A CBS News/YouGov survey, released Sunday, found Harris edged Trump out nationally, 51 to 48 percent, while the two were in a dead heat across seven battleground states.

The new AP-NORC poll was conducted Aug. 8-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. It has a margin of sampling error of 3.8 percentage points.