Vice President Kamala Harris could have more ground to make up against Donald Trump after reportedly securing enough delegates to lock in the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2024 election.
A new election poll shows Trump gaining on Harris after the Republican National Convention (RNC).
What Happened: Harris had gained key endorsements to be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race.
Election polls showed Trump gaining on Biden in recent weeks after the first 2024 presidential debate.
With Biden exiting the race and Harris emerging as the probable nominee, fresh 2024 election polls might offer an early glimpse into a potential Harris-Trump showdown.
A Harris X/Forbes poll conducted July 19 to July 21 was before Biden dropped out of the race. It asked voters to pick between head-to-head matchups of Biden versus Trump and Harris versus Trump.
In the poll, Biden trailed Trump by eight points 40% to 48%. This marked a decline from 42% to 45% before the RNC.
Harris fared slightly better in the poll, getting 41% of support to Trump's 50% support.
Of voters polled who said they were likely to vote in the 2024 presidential election, Trump led Biden 49% to 39% and Harris 51% to 40%.
"Kamala Harris starts her 2024 battle behind Trump, who is enjoying a strong post-convention bump and leads her by almost double digits in our polling," HarrisX CEO and Chief Pollster Dritan Nesho said.
Nesho said Harris could better sway independent voters who are undecided and women voters, but the poll shows it might be too late.
"If the polls don't start to close and show better traction for her, Biden's decision to step aside for Harris may be a case of ‘too similar, too late.'"
Read Also: Kamala Harris On AI, TikTok And Big Tech Breakups: ‘Privacy Is Not Being Compromised’
Why It's Important: The poll shows Trump gained support after the RNC, which officially named him the Republican Party's presidential nominee. Trump also named J.D. Vance as his running mate ahead of the convention.
The poll saw 78% of voters say they watched or heard about Trump's RNC speech and 56% of voters reacted favorably to it.
A higher percentage of Independent voters (28% vs. 19%) said they were more likely to vote for Trump than less likely to vote for Trump after his RNC speech.
The poll found Harris to have a job approval rating of 38% as vice president, the same rating given to Biden for his job as president in the poll. Harris received a higher job approval rating than Biden among young voters (18 to 34), Hispanic voters and Independent voters.
A look at some of recent head-to-head polls between Trump and Harris shows Trump with a lead over the current vice president. Other polls, which may come from smaller, less well-known polling names, show a tie or win by the vice president.
In a recent Morning Consult poll, Harris trailed Trump by one percentage point, compared to a four-point lead Trump had over Biden. In the head-to-head poll, Harris ranked better than Biden against Trump among young voters (aged 18-34), Black voters and Hispanic voters.
Many of these polls, including the HarrisX/Forbes poll above happened before Biden dropped out or shortly after Biden withdrew from the race. With Harris set to receive the party's nomination and the Democratic National Convention nearing, 2024 election polls could look different in the coming weeks.
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