Vice President Kamala Harris is riding a wave of momentum as the Democrats’ new presumptive nominee and it is showing in the polls. A new Marist Poll found Harris is leading Trump by three points nationally, both in a head-to-head matchup and a multicandidate race that includes independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Harris’ lead marks a four-point swing from last month’s Marist Poll. That data found Trump was up by one point shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out.
It is not just Marist that found Harris has taken the lead.
FiveThirtyEight, which averages the results of polls from multiple organizations, also has Harris up by nearly two points.
There is more bad news for Donald Trump. When Biden was in the race, he was the older candidate. The focus on health and mental fitness fell mainly on Biden. Now Trump is the elder by 19 years. That is leading voters to take a closer look at his age and health.
According to a Morning Consult poll, with Biden in the race, 44% of respondents said Trump was too old. Now that Harris is the nominee, 51% said Trump is too old.
Similar measures have also gotten worse for Trump. Those who say he is in good health fell from 58% to 52%. The number of people who say he is mentally fit fell five points from 53% to 48%.
One thing has not changed since Harris entered the race: Americans do not like their choices. According to the Marist Poll, both Trump and Harris have a favorability rating below 50%.
