Harris edges closer to Trump in new poll conducted after Biden’s withdrawal

Vice President Kamala Harris is edging former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, according to a new poll conducted after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

The New York Times/Siena College released a new survey that found that Trump leads Harris by only one percentage point among likely voters, 48% to 47%. Among registered voters, Trump led Harris by two percentage points. 

The new results reveal a tightening of the race since Democrats changed their nominee when compared to a New York Times poll in July that found Trump was leading Biden by 6 points.

Harris secured a 10-point lead over Trump among voters 45 and younger, a key demographic that the Republican nominee was previously leading in, according to NYT polling just three weeks earlier.

According to the survey, about 79% of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters want Harris to be the party nominee after Biden’s withdrawal from the race, while 27% think Democrats should have a competitive process to select a new nominee.

About 87% of respondents said they either somewhat or strongly approve of Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. Additionally, 45% of respondents say that they do not approve of the job Biden is currently doing as president.

The New York Times/Siene College poll was conducted from July 22 to 24 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.