Democrats haven't been this enthusiastic about voting since 2008
Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
- A new Gallup poll shows Democrats are roughly as excited about voting as they were in early 2008.
- The surge in enthusiasm came after Biden dropped out and Harris launched her campaign.
- Republicans aren't as enthusiastic, but are close to their previous record from August 2020.
The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump remains tight, and either candidate could prevail in November.
But one thing's clear, according to a new poll: Democrats are way more enthusiastic than Republicans about voting right now, and it's likely driven by Harris' ascent to the top of the ticket.
According to new polling from Gallup, 78% of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic about voting than usual. That's a significant increase from the 55% of Democrats who said the same in March.
That's just shy of the record 79% of Democrats who said the same in February 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were in the midst of a heated primary campaign.
By contrast, 64% of Republicans said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting, up from 59% in March. Republicans' record high was in August 2020, when 70% of Republicans said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting.
69% of voters overall indicated that they were enthusiastic about voting in the upcoming election — the highest level of voter enthusiasm that Gallup has measured during a presidential election campaign.
The poll, which included 1,015 adults nationwide, was conducted from August 1 to 20.
Voter enthusiasm doesn't necessarily translate into an election victory: In 2012, Republicans were more enthusiastic about voting than Democrats, but Obama still defeated Mitt Romney.
But it's just the latest sign, on top of swelling crowds at Harris rallies and the tightening of polls that Trump once easily led, that Biden stepping aside was the right move for the Democratic Party.