Vice President Kamala Harris holds a slight edge over former President Donald Trump in a new national presidential poll, one of the first since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday, Harris leads Trump by two points, 44 percent to 42 percent.
The poll, conducted in the two days following Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris, indicates a competitive race. A previous poll from last week showed Harris and Trump tied at 44 percent.
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Harris, 59, is now the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, garnering significant endorsements, donations, and pledged delegates. However, in another survey released Tuesday, she narrowly trails Trump, 78, the Republican nominee.
Both polls’ results fall within their margins of error, highlighting the tightness of the race. These surveys come after the Republican National Convention, where Trump formally accepted his party’s nomination, and Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
Excitement among Democratic voters about Harris’s candidacy appears to have neutralized the post-convention bounce typically seen by nominees. In a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll conducted Monday, Trump edges Harris with 46 percent to 45 percent among registered voters, with nine percent undecided.
When third-party candidates are included, Trump and Harris are tied at 42 percent, with the remaining candidates far behind. The PBS News survey also found that 87 percent of Americans believe Biden’s decision to drop out was the right move, a view shared across party lines.
A plurality of respondents (41 percent) believe Biden’s decision increases Democrats’ chances of winning in November, while 24 percent think it decreases their odds and 34 percent see no impact.
Both polls were released in the aftermath of Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13. According to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics, Trump holds a narrow 1.6 percentage point lead over Harris.
