U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have gained enough momentum to potentially pull off an “upset” in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, though she still trails Republican nominee Donald Trump by a narrow margin, according to a new poll released on September 8, 2024. A poll conducted by the New York Times (NYT) in conjunction with Siena College over the past three to six days asked, “If the 2024 presidential election were held today, who would you vote for if the candidates were Kamala Harris and Donald Trump?” 47% of respondents chose Harris, while 48% chose Trump.
This is similar to the results of a survey conducted by the same organization on July 22-24, 2024, shortly after President Biden announced he would not seek re-election. At that time, former Vice President Harris had a 46% favorability rating, while former President Trump had 48%. While Trump seemed to face challenges after Harris’s full-fledged presidential bid, his approval ratings have shown remarkable resilience, according to the NYT.
The race remains tight, especially in the seven battleground states. In four states—Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona—Harris and Trump are tied at 48% each. In three other states—Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania—Harris leads by a narrow margin of one to two percentage points.
With the election still nearly two months away, 28% of likely voters say they “need to know more” about Harris. In contrast, only 9% said they “need to know more” about Trump. Notably, two-thirds of those wanting more information on Harris said they were particularly interested in learning about her policies.
The NYT interpreted the findings as a potential moment of reassurance for the Democratic Party, which has been energized by last month’s convention in Chicago and Harris’s rising poll numbers. While Harris has regained some support among groups that Biden had lost, such as women, young people, and Latinos, she has yet to fully regain traditional Democratic strongholds, the NYT noted.
By. Wonjun Lee