Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
About 8 in 10 Democrats Are Satisfied With Harris in Stark Shift After Biden Drops Out: AP-NORC Poll
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 months ago on
July 31, 2024

Presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at Convivium Urban Farmstead in Dubuque on Monday, June 10, 2019. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON โ€” Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have energized Democrats in the early days of her candidacy, with the surge in warm feelings extending across multiple groups, including some key Democratic constituencies that had been especially tepid about President Joe Biden, a new poll shows.

About 8 in 10 Democrats

About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be somewhat or very satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race.

In a separate AP-NORC poll, taken before Biden dropped out but after his debate against Republican former President Donald Trump, only about 4 in 10 Democrats said they were somewhat or very satisfied that he was the Democratic Partyโ€™s likely nominee for president.

The rapidly changing views among Democrats in such a short time span underscore how swiftly the party โ€” from rank-and-file voters to elected officials โ€” has coalesced behind Harris as its standard-bearer, motivated by the fresh face at the top of the ticket and newfound confidence in the partyโ€™s prospects against Trump in November.

Gary Hines, a Democrat from Philadelphia, said he wasnโ€™t particularly impressed by Harrisโ€™ first presidential bid but now, sheโ€™s shown โ€œsheโ€™s up to the task, can do the work, has proven that sheโ€™s running a strong campaign so far and maybe on a bigger level, sheโ€™s somebody that can beat Donald Trump.โ€ All those factors have ignited an enthusiasm in Hines that wasnโ€™t there when Biden was still in the race, he said.

โ€œI really want to go out and maybe knock on doors, which I wouldโ€™ve never done,โ€ said Hines, 68. โ€œItโ€™s jazzed me up quite a bit.โ€

Americans are also more likely to say that Harris would make a good president than they were earlier in July, a shift that was primarily driven by Democrats. They still see a tough contest looming, though: A majority of U.S. adults, 56%, say that if Trump and Harris are their partiesโ€™ nominees for the general election in November, Trump is more likely to win.

Lauren Schulman, a Democrat from Pompano Beach, Florida, said she admires Biden and what he has accomplished during his presidency. But she said with him at the top of the ticket, โ€œI have just been so terrified that we were going to lose.โ€

With Harris, on the other hand, โ€œsheโ€™s been a bright, shining star,โ€ said Schulman, 66, noting that the vice president is โ€œsmart and sheโ€™s younger, and she even comes off younger than she is. That makes such a huge contrast with Trump.โ€

Growing Enthusiasm for Harris

About 7 in 10 Black adults and about half of Hispanic adults would be satisfied with Harris as the Democratic nominee โ€” a marked increase from earlier in July, when about half of Black adults and 15% of Hispanic adults felt satisfied with Biden as the Democratsโ€™ expected nominee. (The poll did not include enough Asian adults to analyze their responses separately.)

The share of younger adults (those under the age of 45) who say they would be satisfied with Harris as the nominee, at around 4 in 10, is higher than the 17% who said they were satisfied with Biden in July.

Bryan Seigler, a Democrat from Raleigh, North Carolina, praised Harrisโ€™ โ€œbroad appealโ€ and pointed to a contrast that Democrats werenโ€™t able to make before.

โ€œDonald Trump is the old guy now,โ€ said Seigler, 36.

The new poll shows that Harrisโ€™ overall favorability has risen slightly, from 39% at the beginning of the summer โ€” before the debate โ€” to 46% now. Democratsโ€™ opinions of Harris have also shifted in a slightly more positive direction. Eight in 10 Democrats have a positive view of Harris, up slightly from around 7 in 10 in early June.

Harris would be a historic candidate โ€” she would be the first woman to win the presidency, as well as the first Black woman, the first South Asian American, and the first Asian American. Around 4 in 10 Americans say that it would be a good thing for the country to elect either a woman or a person of color to be president. Even more โ€” about 6 in 10 when asked about electing a person of color and about half when asked about electing a woman โ€” say it does not matter.

Majorities of Democrats, however, say it would be good for the country to elect a woman or person of color.

Views of Bidenโ€™s Decision

Most Americans, 54%, say they have heard or read a lot about Bidenโ€™s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. About three-quarters of Americans approve of his decision to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for president, including most Democrats and Republicans.

For many Democrats, Bidenโ€™s catastrophic June 27 debate showed that โ€” even if they were largely satisfied with his accomplishments during his time in office โ€” the incumbent president should not be running for a second term because of concerns about how his age was affecting his public performance or his ability to campaign effectively against Trump.

โ€œWhen I watched the debate, you could just tell his cognitive ability was hardly there,โ€ said Julian Castaรฑeda, a Democrat in Pocatello, Idaho. โ€œHe had a hard time forming sentences and a lot of his responses, I couldnโ€™t even understand what he was saying. At his age right now, it was appropriate for him to stand aside.โ€

Bidenโ€™s choice to endorse Harris as the Democratic nominee for president is slightly more divisive, with about half of U.S. adults in support, though Democrats overwhelmingly approve. There are similar levels of support for Bidenโ€™s decision to serve out the rest of his presidential term.

Withdrawing from the race didnโ€™t do much to change Americansโ€™ views of Biden overall. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of how Biden is handling his job as president. That number is roughly in line with where it has been for the last two years. Bidenโ€™s favorability ratings are similar to where they were before he dropped out of the race, with about 4 in 10 adults and about three-quarters of Democrats holding a positive view.

Americans See a Tough Election Contest for Harris

Even as the new Harris campaign has reasons for optimism, the vice president faces an opponent who is better known by the country and who has a reputation for a loyal base of support.

Most Americans perceive Trump as having the advantage going into the November election. A majority of U.S. adults say that if Trump and Harris are the candidates, Trump is more likely to win. About 9 in 10 Republicans say Trump is more likely to become president, while only about 7 in 10 Democrats say that about Harris.

Schulman thinks Harris is more likely to win this fall. Still, she added: โ€œDemocrats, weโ€™re like a real, nervous, paranoid bunch these days.โ€

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Fresno Protesters Flood Streets, Demand End to Deportations

UP NEXT

Fresno Hit-and-Run Collision Shuts Down Blackstone Avenue During Protest

After Remodeling Board Room, Fresno Trustees Streamline Meetings

16 hours ago

If TikTok Is Banned, Can I Still Use It?

16 hours ago

Fresno Protesters Flood Streets, Demand End to Deportations

Hundreds of protesters lined both sides of Blackstone Avenue, near Nees Avenue, on Sunday, waving flags, chanting, and calling for an end to...

7 hours ago

Fresno protesters filled the streets on Sunday, waving flags and chanting against deportations, following a press conference revealing the detention of 78 people in recent local immigration operations.
7 hours ago

Fresno Protesters Flood Streets, Demand End to Deportations

A hit-and-run collision during a deportation protest on Blackstone Avenue hospitalized two people and caused major disruptions. (GV Wire/Anthony W. Haddad)
8 hours ago

Fresno Hit-and-Run Collision Shuts Down Blackstone Avenue During Protest

13 hours ago

Herbertโ€™s Interceptions Doom Chargers in Playoff Loss to Texans

Mike Vrabel Hired by Patriots
13 hours ago

NE Hires Former Patriots Super Bowl Champ Mike Vrabel as Coach

Destroyed Homes in Pacific Palisades
13 hours ago

LA Wildfires Death Toll Rises to 16 as Crews Fight Heavy Winds

14 hours ago

Life of Da Party: Snoop Dogg to Host NFL Honors Awards Show

16 hours ago

After Remodeling Board Room, Fresno Trustees Streamline Meetings

16 hours ago

If TikTok Is Banned, Can I Still Use It?

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend