Harris narrows gap with Trump after Biden exit: Poll

Vice President Kamala Harris is narrowing the gap with former President Trump after President Biden’s historic exit from the 2024 White House race, new polling shows.

The latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll puts Trump ahead of Harris by just 3 points, down from the 7-point lead he held over Biden in June. The Republican snagged 48 percent, compared to Harris’s 45 percent, with another 7 percent still undecided. 

Harris also saw a 9-point jump in favorability after she took over Biden’s bid. She and Trump are now effectively tied at 47 and 48 percent, respectively, in terms of favorability. 

The new numbers come in the wake of an unprecedented few weeks in politics, including an assassination attempt against Trump at one of his recent campaign rallies and Biden’s withdrawal after a dismal debate performance. 

Roughly four in five voters said they approve of Biden’s decision to leave the race, and 55 percent approve of his endorsement of Harris.

Compared to the June poll, more Democrats say they’d back the Democratic candidate, and fewer Independents say they’re unsure of who to vote for – but, at the same time, a quarter of voters overall say they still haven’t made up their mind on who they’ll back in November. 

“Harris has picked up the easy points as the Democratic Party is now one again and with enthusiasm,” said Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll. “However, getting to the next level will mean bringing in more independent voters in key swing states and that’s a tougher job.”

The poll, a collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX, was conducted July 26-28 among 2,196 registered voters. The margin of error for the total sample was plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.