Three in five Democrats want Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee: poll

Vice President Kamala Harris may not have started Sunday as the prohibitive Democratic favorite to top the ticket in November, but fresh polling conducted in the wake of President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race says she is now.

In a Sunday survey from YouGov, a staggering 60% of Democrats say the Californian should be the party’s presidential nominee. 

Overt opposition to Harris ascending to the top of the ticket is relatively muted, with 21% of Democrats wanting someone else and 19% not sure what they want.

The good vibes for Harris don’t extend to independents and Republicans, of course.

Just 30% of unaligned voters want the veep to top the ticket, with 36% saying they want someone else and the remainder unsure.

A full 50% of Republicans think some other Democrat should be the nominee, with 26% unsure and 24% supporting Harris being the pick.

It’s unclear what drives the GOP support for the VP’s promotion; there are Republicans who believe Harris would be easy to defeat, as she could be made to account for the Biden administration’s problems writ large and her ineffectiveness as the border czar amid executive-branch policies that allowed unfettered immigration the last few years.

At this writing Sunday night, Harris seems to have necessary momentum for the nomination.

Biden endorsed her as his successor, and former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton are both on board for this demonstration of continuity. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who some speculated could make a play for the nomination given the uncertainty, also endorsed Harris.

The latest on President Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race:

One name that is notably missing from the hurrahs for Harris, however, is that of former President Barack Obama, who expressed shortly after Biden stood down his “extraordinary confidence” that Democratic leaders would “create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” stopping far short of an endorsement.

Likewise, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not endorsed her fellow Californian, suggesting there may be some appetite for a more open process than Democratic leaders might want this late in the campaign season. 

But state delegations are already moving to consolidate behind the vice president, who would be the first woman of black and Asian heritage to top a major-party presidential ticket. Tennessee was the first to agree to back Harris, with 77 delegates, but the Volunteer State won’t be the last.

YouGov also asked voters how they feel about Biden’s decision to stand down, and 71% overall said they approve — a number that carries across the board, with 70% of Dems, 77% of Republicans and 68% of independents backing the president’s decision to abandon his final campaign.

But the general agreement doesn’t apply to the question of whether Donald Trump is more likely to be elected with the change at the top of the ticket, as Democrats deviate from GOP and indy registrants.

While 37% of Democrats believe a new presidential candidate makes Trump less likely to win (compared with 22% who think Trump’s win will make it more likely), a majority of Republicans — 53% — say the former president is better positioned without Biden on the ballot.

Among independents, 34% think Trump has a better shot in a post-Biden campaign, while 23% think the GOP nominee is more likely to lose.