As President Joe Biden faces a drumbeat of pressure to drop his re-election bid, one poll seems to suggest that Democrats believe Vice President Kamala Harris would make a good president.
According to a recent AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, over 60% of Democrats think Kamala Harris would be a fine president. Approximately 20% of Democrats don’t think she will, and an additional 20% say they don’t know enough to comment.
Many Democrats have openly and privately turned to Harris to replace Biden as the party’s presidential nominee since Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate, reasoning that she has a stronger chance of defeating GOP contender Donald Trump. Harris, on the other hand, has stuck by Biden wholeheartedly and has been among his strongest supporters since the catastrophic debate performance.
More Black adults than all Americans believe that Harris would perform well in the race for president. Black adults are an important part of the Democratic coalition and a group that still views Biden favorably.
The general American public is less optimistic about Harris’ ability to lead the White House. Approximately 3 out of 10 American adults believe Harris would be a good president. Two in ten people say they don’t know enough to comment, and almost half believe Harris would not perform well in the position.
While Harris’ favorability rating is comparable to Biden’s, a smaller percentage of Americans think negatively of her. According to the survey, over half of American adults have a negative opinion of Harris, while around 4 out of 10 have a positive opinion. About six out of ten Americans have a poor opinion of Biden. Most Americans have an opinion about Biden, but just around 10% say they don’t know enough about Harris to form one.
Similar to how Democrats feel about Biden, over 75% of Democrats think favorably of Harris. Seven out of ten think well of him.
The poll found that black Americans like Harris more than whites or Hispanics. It is the guys who detest her more than the ladies.
Less is known about other well-known Democrats who have been mentioned as possible successors to Harris. About half of American adults are unaware of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, while about 4 out of 10 have no opinion about California Governor Gavin Newsom. Overall, opinions of Newsom are a little bit more mixed than favorable. Regarding Whitmer, Americans are split almost evenly: 24% hold a positive opinion and 22% a negative one.
Though this may be somewhat due to their relatively unknown status, more Democrats believe that Harris would make a better president than either Newsom or Whitmer.
Approximately 33% of Democrats believe that Newsom would be a fine president, while the other 50% are unsure. Approximately 25% of Democrats believe Whitmer would succeed, while the remaining 63% are unsure.
Harris made headlines this week after she smeared Republican vice presidential nominee and Senator JD Vance (R-OH), accusing him of being “loyal only to Trump, not to our country.”
This comes just days after former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. President Joe Biden and Harris called for the “temperature” to be lowered on the campaign trail, but she seems to be abandoning that in her latest attack on Vance and Trump.
“Hey, everyone. So Donald Trump has picked his new running mate, JD Vance. Trump looked for someone he knew would be a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda. And make no mistake, JD Vance will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country,” Harris said.
“And unlike Mike Pence, Vance said he would have carried out Trump’s plan to overturn the 2020 election. He supports a national abortion ban and voted against protecting IVF. And if elected, he will help implement the Extreme Project 2025 plan for a second Trump term, which would target critical programs like Headstart and Medicare,” Harris added.
“But we are not going to let that happen,” she concluded.
WATCH:
Donald Trump has picked his new running mate: J.D. Vance.
He will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country.
If elected, he will help implement the extreme Project 2025 plan for a second Trump term. We’re not going to let that happen. pic.twitter.com/z4UKczVdbv
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 17, 2024
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
