The new Morning Consult poll found that Vice President Harris has the support of nearly two-thirds of Democrats to lead the ticket and she has gained four points over Biden’s performance against Trump.
According to Morning Consult:
– 65% of Democratic voters support Harris to lead the party’s ticket, more than double the level of support she had in a hypothetical look at the same question late last month following the first presidential debate.
– Former President Donald Trump leads Harris by 2 percentage points, 47% to 45%, in our hypothetical head-to-head survey conducted after Biden announced his decision to step aside, marking an improvement from the 6-point margin Biden faced in our surveys conducted ahead of his exit from the race.
– Democratic voters are more likely than Republicans (27% to 24%) to say they’re “much more motivated” to participate in the political process this election season following Biden’s decision, mirroring the gap between Biden’s and Trump’s respective 2020 supporters (26% to 23%).
Harris hasn’t been a candidate for more than a full day, and she has already closed the gap on Trump.
Polling is incredibly unreliable, but if we look at the movement, it is clear movement toward Harris. The poll was taken right after Biden’s announcement so there were definitely some shock and hurt feelings among Democrats, and those should evaporate and the party will unify even more in the coming days.
Once Democrats are completely unified, it is reasonable to expect VP Harris to take a small lead or be tied with Trump.
The momentum has shifted to Democrats. It will now be a matter how far it takes them.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
