A nationwide poll conducted July 21-22 by Ipsos and Reuters showed Vice President Kamala Harris, with 44%, ahead of Donald Trump, who had 42%.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has made a great start to her election campaign. Record fundraising, celebrity support. Harris even leads Donald Trump by two percentage points in the first national poll since Joe Biden decided to end his campaign. So is it too early for Trump to celebrate his election victory?
Survey
Harris leads Trump in the national poll, 44% to 42%, within a margin of 3 percentage points.
In the previous Reuters/Ipsos poll on July 15-16, Harris and Trump each had 44% support, and at the beginning of the month the Republican led the US vice president by one percentage point.
Additionally, in the most recent poll, 56% of registered US voters said Harris, 59, “has a sharp mind and is capable of handling challenges.” Only 49% said this about 78-year-old Trump, and only 22% said this about 81-year-old Biden.
As Reuters notes, national polls show important signals about American support for politicians, but the fate of the US presidential election is usually decided in a few key states that traditionally support candidates from different parties.
Record fees
Leading Democrats, who are seriously considering Biden’s successor in the presidential election, have already supported the candidacy of Kamala Harris, and some have declared that they are ready to actively work for her campaign.
But the best indicator is not the statements of the leaders, but the donations of party members.
More than 888 thousand Americans sent money to Harris, and more than 500 thousand of them made their first donation in the current presidential election that day. That is, they saw no point in donating to the Biden campaign (with Harris as vice president) even before the disastrous debate.
Harris has already raised $100 million for his campaign.
In addition, nearly 58,000 people registered to volunteer for the vice president’s campaign, more than 100 times the average daily registration rate.
The fight for voters
Popular singer Beyonce allowed US Vice President Kamala Harris to use her song Freedom for free throughout the presidential campaign.
Beyoncé is known for having strict rules about the use of her songs. However, the Democratic candidate’s team quickly responded to the request. Therefore, the performer made it clear that he will support the vice-presidential candidacy after Joe Biden withdrew from the election, CNN notes.
According to analysts, the main category of citizens from which the Democrats will get new votes from changing the candidacy to Harris is Generation Z, that is, people under 30 years old. Young people in the United States traditionally prefer the Democrats, but they hardly go to the polls. Harris could change that. And it’s not just because Harris’ age isn’t too “scary” for young voters.
There are two other groups that Democrats have high hopes for.
First of all, it’s women, but also black voters.
But for Harris, there are also problematic groups.
The vice president may perform more poorly than Biden among moderate white voters, especially men without college degrees.
After all, even in the Democratic Party there are doubts whether the United States is ready to elect not only the first female president, but a president whose mother was born in India and father in Jamaica.
Democrats have already prepared arguments for this group. Harris is a California prosecutor with a relatively successful record in fighting crime—something that matters a lot to white moderate voters.
Staff
If Kamala Harris wins the US presidential election, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will likely leave their posts, writes The Wall Street Journal, citing former and current officials.
The publication calls out all three primary nominees of current President Joe Biden and notes that the election of Harris could lead to shake-ups in the Democratic Party’s national security team.
A key role on Harris’ team is likely to be played by his national security adviser, Philip Gordon, The Wall Street Journal wrote. During the Barack Obama administration, Gordon was the State Department’s top official for Europe and later served as the White House’s top Middle East official.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.