Topline
Vice President Kamala Harris has detached herself from President Joe Biden’s negative approval rating, according to two polling averages that show the share of Americans who view her favorably has outpaced those who view her unfavorably for the first time since 2021.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks onstage during The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd … [+]
Key Facts
Harris’ favorability rating broke even, by 0.1 point, in FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average Tuesday, with about 46.6% of Americans viewing her positively and negatively, while RealClearPolitics’ polling average shows 48.9% of Americans view her favorably, compared to 47.3% who view her unfavorably, a 1.6-point net positive.
Harris last logged a positive net favorability rating in July 2021 as Americans’ views of her have largely been reflective of their opinions of President Joe Biden.
Since entering the presidential race on July 21, when Harris’ favorability rating stood at about 37% according to FiveThirtyEight, she has peeled away from Biden, with the majority of polls in recent weeks showing more Americans viewing her favorably than unfavorably, while Biden’s favorability rating is still underwater at 40%.
Harris’ favorability rating has also surpassed Trump’s in some polls, including a new Forbes/HarrisX poll that found 49% of registered voters view Harris favorably, compared to 45% who have a favorable view of Trump and 42% who view Biden favorably.
Contra
Harris’ job approval rating, which is separate from her favorability rating, is still at a net negative, with 47.5% of Americans disapproving of her job performance, compared to 45.2% who approve, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average. Harris’ approval rating has improved significantly since she entered the race on July 21, however, when her approval rating was at 38.3%. FiveThirtyEight shows a 39.8% average approval rating for Biden, while 55.1% disapprove of his job performance.
Big Number
42.8%. That’s Trump’s favorability rating, according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, compared to Harris’ 46.6% average.
Key Background
Harris has erased Trump’s lead nationally over Biden, with FiveThirtyEight’s polling average showing her ahead by 2.9 points and RealClearPolitics’ polling average showing her up by two points. The race is razor-thin in the battleground states likely to decide the election—Harris leads by two points or less in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Nevada, while Trump leads in Arizona and they’re tied in Pennsylvania, according to a recent CBS/YouGov poll.
Tangent
A string of pundits and poll respondents named Harris the winner of her Sept. 10 debate with Trump, but polls show her lead has largely remained stagnant since. Harris leads Trump by three points, 48% to 45%, with 8% undecided, in a Forbes/HarrisX survey of 3,018 registered voters taken Sept. 11-13 (margin of error 1.8), and she gains a point, 52% to 48%, when voters who are undecided but are leaning toward a specific candidate are factored in. Harris and Trump were tied, at 45%, with 10% undecided, in a pre-debate HarrisX survey of 1,003 registered voters taken Sept. 9-10 (margin of error 3.1), and Harris is up by two points, 51% to 49% with so-called leaners accounted for. She’s up five points in a Morning Consult survey conducted a day after the debate, a one-point improvement from her lead in a Morning Consult poll taken the day of the debate, and she’s up five points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday, also a one-point increase from her advantage in an Aug. 21-28 Reuters/Ipsos survey.
Further Reading
New HarrisX/Forbes Poll: Harris Won Debate—But It Largely Hasn’t Changed Voters’ Minds (Forbes)
Trump Vs. Harris 2024 Polls: Harris Increases Lead Slightly After Debate (Forbes)
