Ex-President Donald Trump (left) leads Vice President Kamala Harris (right) narrowly in the first polls since President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign (Pictures: AP/Getty Images)
The US election landscape shifted dramatically this week as President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Four days later, the majority of Democrats have thrown support to Harris to take on ex-president and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
The first polls since Biden dropped out of the race have been released, and reveal how Harris is performing compared to Trump.
Several polls show Harris in neck and neck competition with the former president.
Vice President Kamala Harris has a higher favorability rating than President Joe Biden in a New York Times/Siena College poll (Picture: Getty Images)
A New York Times/Siena College poll released on Thursday has Trump leading Harris by one percentage point – 48% versus 47%.
Trump’s 48% support among registered voters is up from 42% in the last poll by the organizations, which was conducted after Biden’s disastrous debate and after the ex-president survived an assassination attempt. It is his highest rating yet in the poll, which had prior figures for him ranging from 39% to 45%.
Meanwhile, Harris’ ratings have seen a greater jump than Trump’s. Her rating is up from 36% favorability in February, but she still trails Trump narrowly. Harris’ rating is higher than Biden’s ever was in the poll, which was last conducted from July 22 to July 24.
Ex-President Donald Trump’s campaign believes an increase in Vice President Kamala Harris’ popularity is owed to her new candidacy and will be short lived (Picture: Reuters)
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday, two days after Biden ended his re-election campaign, similarly showed Trump ahead of Harris.
Trump led 44% to 42% in the national poll which has a margin of error of three percentage points. Trump and Harris were tied at 44% in the previous poll conducted on July 15 and 16, before the shakeup within the Democratic Party.
A Trump campaign pollster stated that any increase in support for Harris was tied to her new candidacy and would be short-term.
President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday about his decision to not seek reelection (Picture: Getty Images)
‘That bump is likely to start showing itself over the next few days and will last for a while,’ stated the pollster, Tony Fabrizio.
A CNN/SSRS poll released on Wednesday had Trump with a three percentage point lead over Harris – 49% versus 46%. While Trump’s rating did not change from other recent editions of the poll, Harris’ rating was three percentage points higher than Biden’s.
A FiveThirtyEight average of four polls – Reuters/Ipsos, CNN/SSRS, Economist/YouGov and RMG Research – found that Trump has a mere one percentage point lead over Harris.
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