Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP/Alex Brandon)
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Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are viewed positively by about half of Americans, putting their favorability ratings at the lower end of Gallup’s 68-year trend for major-party nominees.
According to a Gallup poll conducted Oct. 1-12, both Trump and Harris received similar scores, with Harris at 48% favorable and Trump at 47%. Trump’s current rating is higher than his 2016 record-low of 36%.
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Gallup’s “scalometer” scale rates candidates from +5 to -5. Trump’s rating above 50% for the first time marks a shift from his previous campaigns in 2016 and 2020.
Only a few other candidates, including Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, had sub-50% ratings.
Historically, most nominees have scored over 60%, with only Obama, McCain, and Bush hitting that mark since 2004.
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Trump, Harris Receive Polarizing Ratings
The survey also highlights intense polarization in 2024. Both Trump and Harris have more respondents giving them strongly positive or strongly negative ratings than moderate ones.
Trump holds a 31% highly favorable rating and 37% highly unfavorable, while Harris sees similar numbers at 30% and 34%, respectively. These figures surpass the historical average for highly unfavorable ratings, which rarely exceeded 26% before 2016.
Partisanship strongly influences these ratings. Trump and Harris are highly favored by their own party supporters, with Republicans and Democrats rating their nominees 68% and 72% highly favorable, respectively.
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However, Trump is rated more negatively by the opposition, with 80% of Democrats holding a highly unfavorable view, compared to 71% of Republicans for Harris.
As both candidates gear up for the 2024 election, their low ratings and strong partisan divides reflect the broader polarization seen in recent years.
Read the full report at Gallup.
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