Harris is taking the lead from Trump as new polls show changed race

Vice President Kamala Harris is taking the lead against Donald Trump in poll after poll in the election race. New findings put Harris far ahead of Trump with some voters whereas other discoveries have her taking a national lead. 

The latest findings from polling conducted by Marquette Law School between July 24th and August 1st revealed Harris held an 8-point lead over Trump. Vice President Harris captured 50% of likely voters compared to Trump’s 42%. 

Harris also led Trump among registered voters 47% to 41%. Previous polling conducted in May by Marquette Law School when Joe Biden was set to run against Trump showed Biden beat Trump with a 3-point margin, Newsweek reported. 

Marquette Law School also found that when third-party candidates were included in the mix, Harris actually performed better than in a head-to-head match against Trump. The VP took 52% of the vote among registered voters compared to 48% for Trump. 

Likely voters had the same reaction when asked to choose a candidate in a race where third parties were added, These voters favored Harris (53%) over Trump (47%), which was a much better result than Biden could muster against Trump in earlier polling. 

Newsweek’s Martha McHardy explained in a breakdown of the new polling data that it was “a substantial improvement for the Democrats in a head-to-head lineup” compared to the results Biden earned in Marquette Law School's May polling. 

“Biden and Trump were tied among registered voters, while Trump was favored by 51 percent of likely voters and Biden 49 percent,” McHardy wrote. However, the findings from Marquette Law School aren’t the only interesting poll discoveries recently. 

On August 6th, Marist Poll released new findings from a new poll that not only had the Vice President leading Trump 51% to 48%, but it also revealed that Harris had a huge lead among the most important cohort of voters—independents. 

"For months, comments on the presidential race typically included the phrase, ‘baked in.’ That’s no longer the case," Lee M. Miringoff, Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said according to a statement from the polling firm. 

"Democrats have renewed enthusiasm and confidence with Harris at the top of the ticket, and the new matchup has ignited interest in the contest on both sides,” Miringoff continued. 

Harris has taken a commanding 9-point lead with independents, capturing 53% of their vote compared to Trump’s 44%. Not only is this a big lead, but it’s also a major reversal from July when Harris was down by 14 points with independents. 

The Vice President also leads Trump by 14 points with women (55%-42%), though it is important to note that the new Marist Poll found Harris was losing men to Trump by 9 points (54%-45%). Still, her polling numbers are quite impressive. 

What’s fueling the Vice President’s meteoric rise with American voters was pointed out by NPR, which along with PBS News commissioned the polling. Harris captured “Black voters, white women with college degrees, and women who identify as political independents.”

“She is doing 20 to 30 points better with them than when she first got in, leading to improvement in the suburbs and with white voters overall,” NPR’s Domenico Montanaro wrote in a report on the new polling data. 

Montanaro added negative views on the economy are not sticking to Harris in the same way that they affected Biden. However, Trump is still seen as more trusted on the issue with a 3-point lead over Harris, which is down from his 9-point lead over Biden. 

“Harris is also seeing improvement on how she would handle immigration, though Trump is still more trusted on that topic by 6 points (52%-46%). Harris’ best issue is handling abortion rights. She has a 15-point advantage on that,” Montanaro wrote. 

Whether or not shifting polling numbers are here to stay is still unknown, but things are looking a lot better for the Democrats mere weeks after Biden stepped down and Harris replaced him at the top of the ticket. The race has changed, and the outcome may too. 

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