US Vice President Kamala Harris has placed narrowly ahead of Republican rival and former president, Donald Trump, in a national presidential poll released on Tuesday. The Reuters/Ipsos survey was one of the first conducted since US President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris as the Democratic party nominee for the White House.
The poll gave the US vice president a two-point, 44% to 42% lead over Trump, within the margin of error.
The previous week's survey had Harris, 59, and Trump, who at 78 is now the oldest candidate, tied at 44%.
The new poll was conducted in the two days after Biden announced on Sunday that he was dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris. It also followed last week’s Republican National Convention, at which Trump officially accepted the nomination.
Biden announced that he was leaving the race after weeks of growing concerns among Democrats and their supporters over his declining health and perceived ability to defeat Trump in November.
Harris, whose campaign claims she has already secured the Democratic nomination, has been raking in donations and endorsements and has reportedly set a fundraising record after receiving $81 million in contributions in the first 24 hours after Biden’s withdrawal.
A pollster with Trump’s campaign, however, has downplayed the survey results, arguing that Harris’ performance was bolstered by widespread media coverage of her candidacy and the excitement among Democratic voters about the shakeup in the race.
“That bump is likely to start showing itself over the next few days and will last for a while,” Reuters cited pollster Tony Fabrizio as saying.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 56% of registered voters agreed with the statement that Harris was “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” compared to 49% who said the same of Trump.
Other surveys conducted after the US president abandoned his candidacy have revealed that Harris was polling better than Biden but that she still trailed Trump.
A major national survey, the Morning Consult poll, showed the vice president trailing Trump by two percentage points, 47% to 45%, within the margin of error.
In a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll conducted on Monday, Trump held a lead over Harris, with 46% to 45% of US registered voters.