Former US President Donald Trump is narrowly leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House, according to the latest polls by the Wall Street Journal and Forbes/HarrisX.
Harris became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee last week after President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy and endorsed her. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released at the beginning of the week showed Harris leading Trump by two points. The surveys published afterwards show the opposite.
The WSJ poll released on Friday has Trump at 49% and Harris at 47%. The poll was conducted from July 23-25 and involved 1,000 registered voters.
The HarrisX/Forbes online poll of 3,013 registered voters, which was carried out from Monday to Wednesday, produced the same two-point gap, with Trump at 47% and Harris at 45%. The survey also revealed overwhelming support (81%) for Biden’s decision to quit the race.
“Vice President Harris has energized the Democratic base, growing the lead with suburban women and closing the gap with independents,” HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho said. “She is still struggling with African American men, and Trump overall still has a more consolidated base of voters.”
Nesho argued that Biden’s decision to drop out has made the race competitive again.
Biden announced that he was ending his reelection campaign on July 21, after weeks of growing concerns among Democrats and party donors over his declining health and ability to defeat Trump in November. Initially defiant, Biden argued that the move was necessary given the high stakes of the election. “Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” he said in an address from the Oval Office on Wednesday.
The Harris campaign has reported an influx of donations, receiving $81 million in contributions in the 24 hours since Biden’s endorsement. It is expected that the Democrats will officially nominate Harris at the party’s convention next month.