Polls show voters have more favorable view of Harris than Trump
FILE-Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris debate for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on September
The presidential election is less than two months away and recent polls are highlighting Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump’s favorability among voters heading into November.
Here is what the latest polls are saying on Thursday.
Associated Press poll
Voters view Kamala Harris slightly more favorably than they did in July, just after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The Democratic presidential nominee is now seen more positively than negatively by Americans, while Trump's favorability ratings have remained steady.
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About half of voters say that Harris would make a good president, while 36% of voters say that about Trump. The survey noted that voters think Harris has a better chance of winning the election in November, though a large share of respondents say the candidates are equally likely to win or do not have an opinion.
Additionally, independent voters view Harris a little more favorably compared to Trump, although a sizable share of independents view both candidates negatively. Among independents, 3 in 10 say they do not know enough to say whether Harris would make a good president, while 1 in 10 say that about Trump, suggesting the vice president has more room to gain ground than her rival on that measure.
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Democratic voters now have stronger positive feelings about Harris than Republican voters do about Trump. About 9 in 10 Democratic voters have a somewhat or very favorable view of their nominee, while about 8 in 10 Republican voters say the same about Trump.
The AP conducted a poll of 1,771 registered voters between September 12-16, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population.
Gallup poll
In a Gallup poll released on Sept. 18, Donald Trump (46%) and Kamala Harris (44%) have similar favorably among Americans in the analytics and advisory company’s latest Sept. 3-15 poll, during which the candidates participated in their first presidential debate.
Harris and Trump have positive ratings from their own political parties and slight positive ratings from the opposing party. Meanwhile, majorities of independents view Trump and Harris unfavorably, the Republican presidential candidate holds a favorability edge over the vice president with the group -- 44% vs. 35%, respectively.
Trump is viewed better than he was during the 2020 and 2016 campaigns, while Harris’ positive rating is similar to Biden’s in 2020 and well above Hillary Clinton’s in 2016, Gallup noted.
Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Sept. 3-15, 2024, with a random sample of 1,007 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.