Democrats would overwhelmingly support Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee if President Joe Biden drops out of the race, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released Thursday.
Despite her dire circumstances Approval Among all voters, 79% of Democrats said they would support Harris as the party's nominee if Biden dropped out of the race. according to But fewer than a third of Democrats think Harris is more likely to beat former President Donald Trump than Biden in the November election. (Related: WSJ/NYT poll is latest in a series of surveys showing Biden trailing Trump after the debate)
Talk of replacing the nominee has intensified since Biden's disastrous defeat in the June 27 debate, with many prominent Democrats publicly calling for him to step down.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris smile as they watch fireworks over the National Mall from the White House balcony during an Independence Day event on the White House South Lawn in Washington, DC, July 4, 2024. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The poll found that more than half of Americans, 51%, think Biden should definitely or probably withdraw and nominate another Democratic candidate. Among Democrats who said Biden should step aside, 68% cited concerns about his age, health and cognitive function. (Related: New Poll Says Literally Anyone Would Do Better Than Biden)
Still, Harris is a weaker candidate to succeed Biden as a counterweight to Trump. according to A Blue Lab poll published Wednesday by Politico found that candidates with close ties to the administration, like Harris, received lower approval ratings than other candidates, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, potentially signaling that voters are looking for an entirely new face.(Related: Poll shows majority of voters want to oust Biden after debating defeat)
The poll found that about 28% of Democrats said they thought Harris had a good chance of beating Trump, while 32% said she had about the same chance of beating the former president as Biden, and about a quarter (24%) said it was unlikely that Harris would beat Trump in November.
Despite coming in second in the polls, Harris' popularity and approval ratings are consistently low: Polls recently showed her disapproval rating at 51% and her approval rating at just 39%. (RELATED: Sonny Houston expresses 'displeasure' over Kamala Harris winning the general election instead of Biden)
Harris' disapproval rating has been higher than her approval rating since September 2021 and has remained steady at or above 50% since then. according to FiveThirtyEight poll average.
Biden has repeatedly said he will continue to campaign and would only consider withdrawing if health issues arise. according to Biden later tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
The Economist/YouGov poll was conducted between July 13 and July 16 among 1,582 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
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