Kamala Harris' Popularity Reaches Record High

Kamala Harris is now more popular than Joe Biden or Donald Trump have been at any point in the 2024 election cycle, according to a new survey.

A Morning Consult poll of 11,538 registered voters between July 26 and 28 found 50 percent have a favorable view of Harris whilst 46 percent have an unfavorable view. According to the pollster, "Harris's 4-point net favorability is a higher rating than Biden or Trump have posted all cycle."

Harris quickly established herself as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden announced he was pulling out of the race and gave her his endorsement on July 21. The vice president has picked up the support of enough Democratic National Convention delegates to have herself confirmed as the party's 2024 nominee, along with endorsements from prominent leaders like former President Barack Obama.

The latest Morning Consult survey gives Harris a 50 percent approval rating, which is significantly higher than the one conducted a week before, when her favorability was 43 percent and 51 percent had an unfavorable perception of her.

The 12-point swing in net approval was primarily driven by a surge in Harris's popularity with Democrats from 80 percent approval to 89 percent and independents from 31 percent to 48 percent. When Morning Consult asked respondents who they would vote for in a presidential election, 47 percent said Harris against 46 percent for former President Trump. According to the pollster, the Harris figure was higher than the support Biden recorded when he was seen as the most likely Democratic nominee going back to late 2022.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2024. Harris has a favorability rating of 50 percent, per a new survey. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on July 27, 2024. Harris has a favorability rating of 50 percent, per a new survey. STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH/POOL/AFP/GETTY

Notably, the poll showed support for third party candidates, such as independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had shrunk to 4 percent of the vote, well below the 8 percent it was at in Morning Consult's final survey for Biden v. Trump before the incumbent president announced he was not seeking reelection.

According to the poll, 47 percent of voters said they had heard something positive about Harris over the past week, compared to 35 percent who'd heard something negative.

When contacted for comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung sent Newsweek a link to a HarrisX/Forbes poll of 2,472 likely voters conducted from July 24-25. The poll put the Republican candidate on 51 percent in a straight contest, against 49 percent for Harris.

Newsweek also reached out to representatives of Harris for comment on Tuesday outside of regular office hours.

On Monday, during an appearance on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, Trump declined to guarantee he would debate with Harris ahead of the 2024 election.

Speaking to host Laura Ingraham, the Republican candidate said he will "probably end up debating" but "can also make a case for not doing it."

In a response on X, Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa asked: "Why won't Donald Trump give a straight answer on debating Vice President Harris?"

On Monday, The New York Times reported North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper had withdrawn himself from consideration to be Harris's running mate over concerns his state's Republican lieutenant governor would assume control when he travels out of state.

Update 7/30/24 7:46 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with a response from a Donald Trump campaign spokesperson.