Vice President Kamala Harris Sees Surge in Favorability Following Biden’s Exit from 2024 Race
In the wake of President Biden’s surprising decision to drop out of the 2024 race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, a new poll shows a significant uptick in Harris’ favorability among American voters.
According to the results of an ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted on Friday and Saturday, Harris’ overall favorability rose from 35% to 43% compared to a week earlier, while her unfavorability rating fell from 46% to 42%. This surge in popularity comes as Harris quickly consolidated support among Democrats to essentially lock up the nomination by the middle of last week.
The news of Harris taking over at the top of the ticket brought a jolt of enthusiasm to Democrats, who donated record-setting fundraising numbers to the Harris campaign. Among Democrats, 88% indicated that they were enthusiastic about Harris becoming the party’s nominee, with 63% very enthusiastic and 25% somewhat enthusiastic. This level of enthusiasm for Harris outstrips that of former President Trump among Republicans, with 82% of GOP respondents indicating they were enthusiastic about him being the nominee.
Meanwhile, Trump saw his favorability rating drop in the poll, falling from 40% last week to 36% in the most recent survey. His unfavorable rating also ticked up slightly, rising from 51% to 52%.
As Harris considers potential running mates, the poll also delved into the ongoing “veepstakes.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and California Gov. Gavin Newsom enjoy the highest name recognition among respondents, while candidates like Sen. Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have the highest favorability rating among those familiar with them.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,200 U.S. adults between July 26-27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
