Vice President Kamala Harris is narrowly leading former President Donald Trump in a new national presidential poll. According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, Harris has a two-point lead over Trump, with 44 percent to his 42 percent.
This poll is one of the first conducted since President Joe Biden announced he was ending his reelection campaign and endorsing Harris. The survey was conducted over two days following Biden’s announcement on Sunday.
In the previous week’s poll, Harris and Trump were tied at 44 percent. Harris, who is 59, now holds a slight edge over the 78-year-old Trump.
Harris is the overwhelming frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. She has been gaining endorsements, donations, and pledged delegates. However, in another survey also released on Tuesday, she trails Trump slightly.
Both polls’ results fall within their margins of error. These new surveys came after the Republican National Convention, where Trump formally accepted the party’s presidential nomination, and after Biden’s departure from the race.
Harris’s performance in the polls suggests she has neutralized the typical bounce that a nominee gets following their party’s nominating convention. Excitement among Democratic voters about the shakeup in the race has also bolstered her numbers.
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In a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll conducted on Monday, Trump edges out Harris with 46 percent to her 45 percent among registered US voters. Nine percent of respondents remain undecided. When third-party candidates or independents are included in the contest, Trump and Harris are tied at 42 percent, with other candidates trailing far behind.
The PBS News survey also found “that 87 percent of Americans believe Biden’s decision to drop out was the right move. This view crosses partisan and generational lines.
“Additionally, 41 percent of respondents think Biden’s decision increases the Democrats’ chances of winning in November, while 24 percent believe it decreases their odds, and 34 percent think it makes no difference.”