Harris Closes Gap With Trump In New Polls

Since Vice President Kamala Harris‘ (D) started her campaign earlier this week, numerous polls have shown roughly support for herself and former President Donald Trump.

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist College poll that was conducted on Monday and surveyed 1,117 registered voters found that Harris garnered 45 percent support among registered voters and Trump received 46 percent support among registered voters. Monday was the first full day of Harris’ campaign following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was not seeking reelection on Sunday.

With third-party candidates considered, Harris and Trump both pulled 42 percentage points, with Robert F. Kennedy pulling seven percentage points.

Harris’ campaign has attracted a surge in independent undecided voters. In a Harris-Trump matchup, the poll reported 21 percent of independent voters were undecided. In a Biden-Trump matchup, which was measured less than two weeks ago, the polls found that four percent of independent voters were undecided. Overall, the number of registered voters who are undecided has grown from two percent to nine percent.

The poll also found that Harris and Biden received support from different types of voters. Harris did worse than Biden among independent voters, college graduates and voters over 35 years old. In contrast, she did better with non-college graduates, non-white voters and younger voters under 35 years old. Harris specifically succeeded with younger voters, boasting ten percentage points higher than Biden among younger voters.

The Marist poll also looked at Trump’s recent vice president pick, JD Vance, in terms of favorability. They found that 28 percent found him favorable, 31 percent found him unfavorable and 41 percent are unsure.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll from earlier this week reported that Harris was leading Trump by two points, with Harris winning 44 points and Trump winning 42 points among registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three points.