There are clear signs that Harris has energized Democratic voters.
Buoyed by growing Democratic enthusiasm, Vice President Kamala Harris is now in a virtual tie with former President Donald Trump in the presidential race.
Among registered voters nationally, 46% say if the election were held today, they would support Harris, while 45% favor Trump and 7% back Robert F. Kennedy Jr.聽, Trump held a 4 percentage point lead over Joe Biden (44% vs. 40%), who聽聽on July 21.
Most of Harris鈥� gains have come at the expense of Kennedy, whose support has declined by roughly half in the past month, from 15% to 7%. Yet there are clear signs that Harris has energized Democratic voters, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted Aug. 5-11 among 9,201 U.S. adults, including 7,569 registered voters.
Harris鈥� strong support is on par with Trump鈥檚. Among Harris鈥� supporters, 62% say they support her strongly, while 64% of Trump鈥檚 supporters back him strongly. Last month, just 43% of Biden supporters backed him strongly, compared with 63% of Trump supporters who supported the former president strongly.
Both candidates鈥� supporters are motivated to vote this fall. Following the stunning events of the past month 鈥� including Biden鈥檚 withdrawal and the assassination attempt against Trump 鈥� supporters of both candidates are increasingly motivated to cast ballots this fall:
- 70% of Harris supporters say they are 鈥渆xtremely motivated鈥� to vote. That compares with 63% of Biden supporters who were extremely motivated in early July, when he was still in the race.
- 72% of Trump supporters say they are extremely motivated, up from 63% last month.
Harris performs better than Biden did across most demographic groups. While many of the demographic patterns in vote preferences echo the Biden-Trump matchup from July, Harris鈥� gains have been particularly pronounced among some traditionally Democratic-leaning groups. Among voters under 50, Harris鈥� support is 9 percentage points higher than Biden鈥檚 was in July. And among Black, Asian and Hispanic voters, Harris鈥� support is up at least 10 points compared with Biden鈥檚.
Most Democrats are 鈥渉appy鈥� Harris is the Democratic candidate. Nearly nine-in-ten Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters (88%) say they are happy that Harris is the Democratic candidate for president in November. Close to half (48%) say they are very happy that Harris is the party鈥檚 candidate.
Other findings: Both Harris and Trump are viewed more favorably than a few months ago
Harris鈥� favorability rises sharply among Democrats
Both Harris and Trump are viewed more favorably than they were in May, with virtually all of the gains coming from members of their own party. Since then, Harris鈥� favorable rating has increased 8 points among all adults (from 36% to 44%), with an 18-point rise among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (from 65% to 83%).
Trump鈥檚 favorability is up more modestly overall, from 39% to 42%. About eight-in-ten Republicans and Republican leaners (79%) now view him favorably, up 5 points since May.
鈥楧ouble negatives鈥� decline
In May, with Biden still in the race, a quarter of Americans had unfavorable opinions of both him and Trump. That was the highest share expressing negative views of both candidates聽. Today, however, the share of these 鈥渄ouble negatives鈥� has fallen to 14%.