Donald Trump appears to have greater appeal to the country at large than Kamala Harris, according to a new poll.
Both candidates are suffering from a lack of popularity, despite near-unanimous support from their bases.
But in Gallup’s latest poll, based on interviews conducted September 3 to 15 with adults across the U.S., only 44 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the Kamala Harris, with 54 percent viewing the vice president unfavorably,
Between June and August, and riding a wave of enthusiasm following President Biden’s withdrawal and her nomination as the Democratic candidate, Harris nearly closed this gap, with a 47 percent favorability compared to 49 percent unfavorable.
The latest three-point drop-off comes in spite of the September debate against Trump, which took place in the middle of Gallup’s polling period, during which Harris was widely viewed as having gotten the better of the former president.
While his current favorability rating sits well below his record high of 63 percent in January 2021, 46 percent of U.S. adults have a positive view of Donald Trump – up from 41 percent in August – with 53 percent viewing him unfavorably.
However, according to the high profile pollster Nate Silver, Harris’ chances in the Electoral College have spiked—while Silver’s model gave the vice president a 38.4 percent chance of securing 270 electoral votes on the day of the latest TV debate, as of Tuesday, her odds were at 43.5 percent.
Both candidates predictably enjoy overwhelming support from their respective parties, while facing equally strong opposition from the other camp.
Some 93 percent of Republicans and 97 percent Democrats view their respective opponents unfavorably, with 91 percent and 94 percent supporting those leading their party’s ticket.
Although most independents view both Trump and Harris unfavorably, the former president has a favorability lead over the current vice president within this group: 44 percent compared to 35 percent, respectively.
If the overall unpopularity of both candidates holds until the election, it would mark the third consecutive presidential race where neither candidate achieved a majority-level favorable rating.
Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Beginning in 2016, when Trump and Hillary Clinton were the “least favorably viewed presidential candidates in the history of Gallup Polling,” neither candidate in presidential elections has enjoyed an over-50 percent favorability rating in either the late-August/early September period, or in the poll immediately preceding the election.
At this stage of the race, however, Trump is enjoying a better score than similar points in the 2016 and 2020 elections, when his favorability score stood at 33 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
The running mates, meanwhile, have failed to drum up the same levels of either support or unpopularity.
Some 19 percent of adults do not yet have an opinion on Tim Walz, compared to 17 percent for JD Vance.
Walz, however, enjoys a 41 percent favorability rating, five points ahead of his counterpart, and an unfavorability rating seven points lower than Vance of 40 percent.
These scores remain broadly in line with vice presidential candidates at the same point in previous races, the last candidate achieve a majority-level favorable rating being Sarah Palin, who in 2008 outpaced then-vice presidential candidate Joe Biden with respective scores of 53 percent and 49 percent.
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