Trump leads Harris by two points in Daily Mail poll… as voters reveal their biggest hesitations about Kamala
Kamala Harris has closed the gap with Donald Trump, but the former president still holds a two-point lead over the new Democratic nominee, an exclusive poll for DailyMail.com shows.
It shows how Joe Biden’s decision to step aside has turned the race for the White House on its head.
But while other recent polls show the vice president winning quickly, our survey of 1,001 likely voters found that 43 percent would vote for Trump if the election were held tomorrow, compared to 41 percent who would vote for Harris.
With a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent, the November elections are expected to be thrilling.
A separate online survey revealed the qualities responsible for Trump’s lead, showing that voters still see him as the stronger, more charismatic candidate who is more likely to get things done.
JL Partners surveyed 1,001 likely voters from August 7-11, using a mix of online, landline, mobile and in-app techniques. The results come with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 points
Still, Harris outperforms Biden on every count. And it all suggests she is shaping up to be a more formidable opponent than the 81-year-old she replaced.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners, which conducted the poll, said there were still many positives for Trump in the poll, despite a difficult time.
“Don’t get us wrong. Harris has made great strides, particularly among young voters and blacks, and she has begun to close the gap with independents.
But Trump has an edge among his base, which remains energized and holds its position among whites, Latinos and voters over 50.
“Harris’ strongest support remains relatively limited to 18- to 49-year-olds. Much of this is due to Trump’s dominance on the economy and the border.”
The result is a neck-and-neck race, he added, and Trump could fall even further.
“But at the moment we are looking at a more exciting race, rather than a race that Harris is certain to win,” he said.
“All eyes should be on the independents now. If Harris can make more headway with them, we could see Trump’s advantage disappear.”
Harris was catapulted into the race after Biden announced last month that he was abandoning his re-election campaign.
The poll found that Vice President Kamala Harris has closed the gap with former President Donald Trump, holding a two-point lead over his Democratic rival
Voter attitudes were tested with a fully online poll of 1,054 likely voters
Trump insiders were initially excited, expecting weeks of Democratic infighting. But the party quickly rallied behind the vice president and will present a united front at its convention in Chicago next week.
The result is a series of polls showing Harris has reversed or at least narrowed Trump’s clear lead in the polls.
Trump took aim at Harris on Monday evening during a conversation with Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X.
“She’s a liberal from San Francisco who destroyed San Francisco, and then, as attorney general, destroyed California,” he said.
The accusation that Harris is a liberal has gained traction among voters, and our research found that this was the single biggest hesitation to vote for her.
There is good news for Harris, however, when it comes to voters’ views on key traits. She fares much better against Trump on who Americans see as “strong,” “competent,” and “represents me and my priorities” than Biden ever did.
The biggest hesitation voters had was that she was “liberal” according to our word clouds
Harris has enjoyed a huge fundraising surge and a rise in the polls since Biden left office
Although Trump wins with a seven-point lead over Harris, that was only 25 percent when Biden was still running.
He also still wins the ‘getting things done’ category by 49 to 40 points, and ‘charisma’ by 45 to 40 points.
But Harris has increased Biden’s lead on a number of other issues, including “caring,” “moral” and “standing for me.”
On Friday, she travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, for her first major policy speech since topping the list.
She is expected to propose ways to lower costs for middle-class families, a concern that regularly tops voters’ lists of priorities, and to tackle corporate overpricing.
Last weekend she announced that she supports abolishing the tax on tips for service providers, following Trump’s lead.
Our poll found that the policy was extremely popular, and its popularity likely outweighed any negative reactions Harris might experience if she copied her opponent’s policy.