WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris enters the Democratic National Convention with increased excitement among Democrats and a steady rise in her popularity among Americans in general.
About half of American adults – 48% – have a very or somewhat positive view of Harris, according to a new U.S. government poll. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs ResearchThat’s up from 39% at the start of the summer, before President Joe Biden’s poor performance in his debate with former President Donald Trump ultimately dropped him from the presidential race.
That’s not just an improvement for Harris, but also from where President Joe Biden stood before he dropped out, when 38% said they had a favorable opinion of him. It’s also slightly better than the 41% of adults who say they have a favorable opinion of Trump.
Harris’s rise in popularity comes as more Americans overall have formed opinions about her, as the Harris and Trump campaigns race to define her nascent candidacy. The share who say they don’t know enough about her to form an opinion has halved, from 12% in June to 6% now.
The latest reading is consistent with how Americans viewed Harris in early 2021, when she and Biden first took office. It suggests renewed positivity toward Harris — the share of Americans who have a “very favorable” opinion of her has also increased over the same period — but she risks hitting a plateau as she approaches her previous peak rating.
Since June, Harris’s popularity has risen modestly among some groups that already generally favor the Democratic Party. She has seen modest gains in popularity among Democrats, independents, women and young adults under 30. There has been no significant movement among black adults or Hispanic adults — other constituencies where Harris will likely need support in November.
Half of adults under 30 have a very or somewhat positive view of Harris in the latest poll, up from 34% in June. That’s because more young adults have been forming an opinion of her, with the share of adults who say they don’t know enough to say falling from about 2 in 10 to about 1 in 10. The number of young adults with an unfavorable view of her hasn’t changed significantly.
Harris has relatively high levels of popularity among black adults, though it has been relatively stable over the past month. About two-thirds of black adults have a very or somewhat positive opinion of Harris. That includes about 4 in 10 who say their opinion of her is “very favorable.” Black adults are more likely than Americans in general to have a positive impression of Harris. About 6 in 10 nonwhite men and women have a positive opinion of Harris.
Johnita Johnson, a 45-year-old Black woman who lives in North Carolina, said she plans to vote for Harris in November, but she wants the campaign to be honest and realistic about what she can promise. She generally has a problem with politicians who overpromise about what they can achieve in office.
“If (Harris) could do exactly what she wants to do and what she says she would do, she would do a great job,” Johnson said. “Well, we all know that’s not going to happen. She might be able to do some of the things she wanted to do. Will she do everything? I can’t say she will. And she can’t promise me that.”
Johnson noted that while Harris is a historic candidate because of her race and gender, that does not affect her support.
“It wouldn’t matter who it was. … As long as they’re good, and good for us, that’s what matters to me,” Johnson said. “Yeah, sure, for a lot of people it’s exciting because she’s black and the first woman. But I don’t watch it.”
To win in November, Harris’s team will try to limit the extent to which Trump can boost his vote among white and male voters, groups that have skewed Republican in recent elections. Currently, about half of men have an unfavorable opinion of Harris. About 6 in 10 white men have an unfavorable opinion of her. White men without college degrees, a group that has traditionally formed Trump’s strong base of support, are particularly likely to say they have an unfavorable opinion.
Harris is viewed more positively by white women, particularly those with college degrees. About 6 in 10 white women with college degrees view her favorably, compared to about 4 in 10 without. Overall, white women are split on her, with 49% having a positive opinion and 46% having a negative one.
Opinions of Harris are fairly stable among older adults. About half of adults over 60 have a positive view of her. That’s generally consistent with the 46% she had among that group in June.
Brian Mowrer, a recently retired 64-year-old in Mishicot, Wisconsin, who was a staunch Republican until he voted for President Barack Obama in 2012, plans to vote for Harris in November. He likes Biden and felt he could do the job for another term, but he was ultimately glad Biden dropped out of the race when it became clear his electability was waning.
“I think it’s great that Biden is out and they elected Kamala Harris,” he said. “Well, I would probably support any Democrat right now.”
Mowrer is motivated by ensuring that Trump does not get a chance to nominate more conservative justices to the Supreme Court, as he worries about further eroding the separation of church and state in the U.S. He is also concerned about electing someone who will defend abortion access, which he sees as a matter of personal liberty. He believes Harris will focus on both of those issues.
“I think she’s very good. She presents herself very well. I think she’s very authentic,” he said. “The policies, or at least the things she talks about and wants to do, are in line with what I think needs to be done.”
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The poll of 1,164 adults was conducted Aug. 8-12, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
