It’s official: Vice President Kamala Harris’ “honeymoon” is over.
According to a new New York Times survey released on Sunday, former President Donald Trump is in the lead ahead of the 2024 election.
The NYT/Siena College poll has Trump at 48 percent and Harris at 47 percent among likely voters. These results are similar to those in July, right before President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
The NYT suggested that Trump had a rocky month following Biden’s exit from the race and the sudden excitement of a 2024 Harris ticket. However, the poll pointed out that Trump’s support remains “remarkably resilient.” The outlet also noted that one of the top reasons Harris is falling behind in the polls is that voters don’t know much about her and where she stands. According to the survey results, 28 percent of respondents felt they needed more information about Harris, with only nine percent saying the same about Trump.
Meanwhile, 47 percent of voters believe Harris is too liberal, and 32 percent of respondents say Trump is too conservative.
Overall, the poll may bring Democratic exuberance back to earth after a buoyant party convention in Chicago last month and rapid gains in support for Harris after Biden’s poor showing in the polls. Harris held on to some of the gains she has made with key groups with whom Mr. Biden had been slipping — such as women, young voters and Latino voters — but fell short of traditional Democratic strength. She continues to struggle to build a solid lead with Latino voters, a crucial demographic.
If November is about change, Ms. Harris will need to make the case that she can deliver it. More than 60 percent of likely voters said the next president should represent a major change from Mr. Biden, but only 25 percent said the vice president represented that change, while 53 percent said Mr. Trump, the former president, did.
The NYT pointed out that this is the first time Trump has taken the lead in a “major nonpartisan national survey” last month. Trump still has a significant 13-point advantage over Harris on the issue that remains the most important to voters: the economy.
Yet, with less than two months before Election Day, the race is still dangerously close to call which candidate will come out on top.
