Harris win possible – polls suggest close race

[Rachel, 7/21/2024, Newsweek, “Democrats' Strongest Candidate Against Donald Trump, According to Polls”, https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-kamala-harris-2024-election-democrats-polls-1928185, accessed 7/21/2024, LR]

After President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday afternoon, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who, according to recent polling data, is the strongest candidate to take on former President Donald Trump.

Biden announced his exit from the race in a letter to the American public posted on social media on Sunday following weeks of fighting between Democrats who wanted Biden to step down and those who thought he was the best choice for the party after his disastrous debate performance against Trump late last month.

With Biden out of the race, the Democratic Party must work fast to secure a new nominee by August 7. The Democratic National Convention (DNC) where the party's nominee is named will take place in Chicago from August 19 to 22.

After the debate, polls started to give respondents other options than Biden for the Democratic nominee and asked them about hypothetical match-ups between those potential nominees and Trump. Harris has proven, so far, to be the best candidate to go up against Trump, except for the wild card, former first lady Michelle Obama. Not enough polling on Obama has been released to tell how she would fare against Trump, but she beat him in one recent poll.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign and Harris' press secretary via email for comment on Sunday evening.

Vice President Kamala Harris

In a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted from July 16 to 18, 51 percent of likely voters picked Trump, compared to 48 percent who chose Harris. The poll surveyed 2,247 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on July 16, Harris and Trump were tied at 44 percent of support among registered voters. The poll surveyed 992 registered voters and has a margin of error was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.