Strong support for Harris is nearly 20 points higher than for Biden last month
Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ views of the 2024 presidential race and the candidates running.
For this analysis, we surveyed 9,201 adults – including 7,569 registered voters – from Aug. 5 to 11, 2024. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.
Here are the questions used for this report, the topline and the survey methodology.
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. A month ago, Trump held a 4 percentage point lead over Joe Biden (44% vs. 40%), who withdrew from the presidential race on July 21.
Most of Harris’ 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’ strong support is on par with Trump’s. Among Harris’ supporters, 62% say they support her strongly, while 64% of Trump’s 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’ supporters are motivated to vote this fall. Following the stunning events of the past month – including Biden’s withdrawal and the assassination attempt against Trump – supporters of both candidates are increasingly motivated to cast ballots this fall:
- 70% of Harris supporters say they are “extremely motivated” 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.
Jump to Chapter 1 for more on voters’ views of the presidential race.
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’ gains have been particularly pronounced among some traditionally Democratic-leaning groups. Among voters under 50, Harris’ support is 9 percentage points higher than Biden’s was in July. And among Black, Asian and Hispanic voters, Harris’ support is up at least 10 points compared with Biden’s.
For more on voting preferences among demographic groups, visit the detailed tables.
Most Democrats are “happy” 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’s candidate.
Other findings: Both Harris and Trump are viewed more favorably than a few months ago
Harris’ 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’ 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’s 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.
‘Double negatives’ 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 in surveys dating back to the 1988 presidential election. Today, however, the share of these “double negatives” has fallen to 14%.
Jump to Chapter 2 for more on favorability ratings.
