New polls show that former President Donald Trump would have been better off if President Joe Biden had remained at the top of the Democratic ticket.
A new CNN/SSRS poll found that Trump’s six-point lead over Biden has shrunk to three points now that his rival is Vice President Kamala Harris — with a margin of error of plus or minus three points.
Pollsters surveyed the same group of registered voters as in April or June to gauge whether voter sentiment had actually changed.
They found that Harris retained 95 percent of voters who said they would vote for Biden in the fall, while Trump retained 92 percent of his supporters in this new contest.
Of those who previously said they would support neither Biden nor Trump in a race, 30 percent are now split on Harris and 27 percent on Trump. The rest still say they would support someone else.
Former President Donald Trump (left) has seen his six percentage point lead halved as he faces a likely battle with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris (right) in November’s general election.
Seventy-four percent of Trump supporters say their vote is a vote for Trump, not a vote against Harris.
That number is up from 66 percent in June.
Since then, Trump has survived an assassination attempt and last week concluded his four-day nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
On the Democratic side, much of the support this campaign has been driven by a dislike of Trump.
However, a new poll shows that 50 percent of people who support Harris say they voted for her, rather than against Trump.
When Biden supporters were asked the same question in June, only 37 percent said they would vote to support the president. The rest said they voted to prevent Trump from serving a second term.
Democratic-leaning voters largely supported the party’s quick endorsement of Harris, who Biden backed when he left office.
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The poll found that 76 percent of respondents believed the Democratic Party should nominate Harris as its presidential candidate.
Only 6 percent expressed support for specific alternative candidates.
Four in 10 Democratic voters say Harris should focus on attracting undecided voters when choosing a running mate.
The Wall Street Journal reported On Monday, Harris’ team requested screening materials from swing state and Midwestern Democrats, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Only 11 percent said it was extremely important that Harris choose a male running mate.
If elected, she would become the first female president and the first female president of color.
The poll was conducted on July 22 and 23, after Biden withdrew from the presidential race.