US Election: Kamala Harris Gains Momentum As Two Fresh Polls Show Overall Lead Against Trump
The poll was conducted by Langer Research Associates for ABC, with fieldwork by Ipsos.
As U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris prepares for her nominating convention, fresh ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll reveals she holds a lead over former President Donald Trump in a head-to-head matchup.
The poll was conducted by Langer Research Associates for ABC, with fieldwork by Ipsos.
Also, in a fresh CBS poll, Kamala leads Trump 51% to 48% nationally while they tie 50% to 50% in battleground areas.
However, the ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll shows that Trump maintains an advantage on key election issues such as the economy, inflation, and immigration, keeping the race competitive.
The poll shows that among all adults, Harris and Gov. Tim Walz lead Trump and Sen. JD Vance by 50%-45%.
Among registered voters, Harris holds a slight lead of 49%-45% and among likely voters, Harris has a 6-point advantage, leading 51%-45%.
According to the poll, 53% of respondents view Kamala Harris as qualified for the presidency, compared to 47% for Donald Trump.
In a five-way matchup, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan, Cornel West/Melina Abdullah and Jill Stein of the Green Party, the poll shows Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance tied at 47%-44% among the general public and registered voters.
But Harris/Walz leads 49%-45% among likely voters, although the difference is not statistically significant.
Notably, the poll indicates Democrats would benefit from a two-way race. Compared to July, there have been significant shifts in public opinion, particularly regarding candidate attributes.
The poll also reveals increased satisfaction among Democrats with their presidential candidate and heightened enthusiasm for their nominee.
Harris surpasses President Joe Biden’s previous ratings on key attributes, leading Donald Trump among all adults in physical health, mental sharpness, honesty and trustworthiness, representing personal values and empathy.
Regarding physical health, Harris leads by 30 points (56%-26%), reversing Trump’s 31-point lead over Biden last month. Harris leads by 9 points on mental sharpness, erasing Trump’s 30-point lead over Biden.
Regarding honesty and trustworthiness, Harris leads by 15 points and also leads by 6 points on representation of personal values.
Harris’s candidacy also has a unique advantage, being a woman as 38% of Americans believe having a female president would be beneficial for the country, while 14% see it as a negative.
The remaining 47% are neutral. Notably, 40% of women and 35% of men view a woman president as a positive development.
Additionally, Harris’s support base is robust: 60% of her backers support her strongly, matching Trump’s level of strong support and surpassing Biden’s 34% last month.
Fifty percent of Americans would be enthusiastic or satisfied with a Harris presidency, compared to 36% for Biden in early 2023.
While among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, enthusiasm for Harris is 19 points higher than for Biden at 91%, versus 72%.
In contrast, 45% of Americans would be enthusiastic or satisfied with a Trump victory, similar to early 2023 levels. However, Republicans and GOP-leaning independents show increased enthusiasm for Trump at 85%, up 6 points.
While 44% of Americans are satisfied with a Harris-Trump matchup, 55% are dissatisfied. Nevertheless, this represents a significant improvement from the 28% satisfaction rate with a Biden-Trump race last month
Public opinion on a Trump victory remains steady, with 45% of Americans expressing enthusiasm or satisfaction, comparable to 43% in early 2023. However, Republican and GOP-leaning independent support has increased by 6 points to 85%.
In contrast, the Harris-Trump matchup receives lower approval, with only 44% of Americans satisfied and 55% dissatisfied. Despite this, it represents a significant improvement from the Biden-Trump race, which had a 28% satisfaction rate and 71% dissatisfaction rate last month.
On key issues, Trump maintains a 9-point lead over Harris in trust to handle the economy and inflation, consistent with his previous position against Biden. Notably, over 85% of adults consider both issues highly important in their presidential vote, ranking them as the top concerns among 11 tested issues.
Trump holds a 10-point advantage over Harris in trust to handle the U.S.-Mexico border immigration situation, a slight decrease from his 14-point lead in July.
However, other issues take precedence over immigration in terms of importance.
As regards healthcare, Harris leads Trump by 7 points and by 6 points in protecting American democracy.
On crime and safety, Harris and Trump are closely matched.
As for the CBS poll, Harris and Trump are even across the battleground states that will decide the Electoral College, and now Harris has a 3-point edge nationally – 51% to 48%.
However, Trump leads with leads with people who say the economy is a major factor, and leads with voters who say they aren’t doing as well financially.
Three-quarters of voters want mifepristone – an abortion pill – available. Nine in 10 believe Harris would make or keep it so, while seven in 10 say Trump will try to restrict access to it.
However, Trump leads among those who say the border is a major factor in their vote. It is the largest lead he has among any issue group, even higher than inflation.
The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted with a representative sample of 3,258 registered voters nationwide interviewed between August 14 and 16, 2024.
The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and the U.S. Census Current Population Survey, as well as past vote.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-poll-kamala-harris-policies-trump-democratic-convention-2024/
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/video/new-poll-shows-harris-leads-trump-112926424
