New Delhi: US Vice President Kamala Harris is beating Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in national presidential poll with a two-percentage-point lead, showed a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll was released on Tuesday, days after US President Joe Biden dropped out of the White House race, endorsing Harris.
Harris (59) holds a two-point lead over Trump(78), 44 percent to 42 percent, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll.
That compares with a marginal two-point deficit Biden faced against Trump in last week’s poll.
The new poll followed the four-day Republican National Convention where Donald Trump formally accepted the presidential nomination by his party on Thursday, final day of the event.
Harris and Trump were tied at 44% in a July 15-16 poll, and Trump led by one percentage point in a July 1-2 poll, both within the same margin of error.
The nationwide surveys indicate American support for political candidates, a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the US Electoral College, which ultimately decides who becomes the President.
A pollster with Trump’s campaign downplayed any polling indicating a surge in Harris’ support, arguing that she was likely to see a temporary rise in popularity because of widespread media coverage of her new candidacy.
The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll emphasised the rationale for Biden dropping out of the race and for Harris replacing him as the top contender for the ticket.
Harris Seen as Sharper Than Biden, Trump
Over 50% of registered voters believed that Harris is more efficient than Trump in taking on the challenges.
About 56% of voters agreed with a statement that Harris was “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” while 49% said the same for Trump. Only 22% of voters had assessed Biden that way.
Biden, 81, ended his reelection bid after he delivered a poor performance at a debate with Trump in which he often stammered and failed to aggressively challenge attacks by Trump that included falsehoods.
Many respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they knew nothing about the Democrats who were being seen as potential picks to join Harris’ ticket.
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