Harris tops Trump by 4 points in new national poll

Vice President Harris is leading former President Trump by 4 points among likely voters, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released Thursday. Harris leads with 49 percent to Trump’s 45 percent, while 4 percent of voters are unsure, 1 percent support Jill Stein and 1 percent support other candidates. 

Harris also leads Trump by 3 percentage points among registered voters; 47 percent of the demographic said they would cast their ballot for Harris, compared to 44 percent who plan to vote for Trump in November.

Five percent of registered voters were unsure, while 1 percent were in favor of Jill Stein, 1 percent said they would not vote and another 1 percent supported other candidates. Cornel West received no support.

Ninety-five percent of Democrats plan to vote for Harris, alongside 38 percent of independents and 6 percent of Republicans. The vice president is supported by 89 percent of liberals, 51 percent of moderates and 8 percent of conservatives.

Ninety percent of Republicans say they will cast their ballot for Trump, in addition to 40 percent of Independents and 2 percent of Democrats. The former president’s base comprises 88 percent of conservatives, 36 percent of moderates and 5 percent of liberals.

The survey also measured candidate favorability and found 48 percent of likely voters view Harris as favorable, compared to 51 percent who said she was unfavorable.

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was also viewed as favorable by 48 percent of likely voters and unfavorable by 46 percent. However, 90 percent of Harris voters said he was favorable, compared to 4 percent who said he was not.

Forty-six percent of likely voters said Trump was favorable, while 54 percent said he was not. The Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), was viewed by 47 percent of likely voters as favorable and 49 percent as unfavorable.

Ninety percent of voters with intent to vote for Trump thought he was favorable, compared to 5 percent who thought he was unfavorable.

As the two parties battle for control of Congress, participants were asked who they would vote for in their congressional district. Republicans and Democrats were each tied with 45 percent of support from participants, while 1 percent said they would not vote.

Survey takers were also asked about top issues ranging from climate change, civil rights and civil liberties to national security and the economy.

Twenty-two percent of voters said inflation was the most important issue, 14 percent said jobs and the economy, while 13 percent said immigration and 11 percent said health care was the top issue on the ballot.

The poll numbers surveyed 1,604 respondents through web-based interviews from Oct. 6-7. There was a plus or minus 3 percent margin of error. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification and current voter registration status.