Nationally, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are essentially tied among registered voters in the current snapshot of the presidential race: 46% prefer Harris, 45% prefer Trump and 7% prefer Robert F. Kennedy Jr at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Following Biden’s exit from the race, Trump’s support among voters has remained largely steady (44% backed him in July against Biden, while 45% back him against Harris today). However, Harris’ support is 6 percentage points higher than Biden’s was in July. In addition to holding on to the support of those who backed Biden in July, Harris’ bump has largely come from those who had previously said they supported or leaned toward Kennedy at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
In the same demographic categories as Biden, Harris does the best. However, these group of voters is now far more likely to declare that they back her wholeheartedly: 62% of Harris’s backers now rate their support as strong, compared to 43% of Biden’s supporters who did so in July. The presidential field is Kennedy, Trump, and Harris.
Voting preferences among demographic groups
Overall, many of the same voting patterns that were evident in the Biden-Trump matchup from July continue to be seen today. Harris fares better than Trump among younger voters, Black voters, Asian voters and voters with college degrees. By comparison, the former president does better among older voters, White voters and voters without a college degree at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
But Harris performs better than Biden across many of these groups – making the race tighter than it was just a few weeks ago.
Gender
- In July, women’s presidential preferences were split: 40% backed Biden, 40% preferred Trump and 17% favored Kennedy. With Harris at the top of the ticket, 49% of women voters now support her, while 42% favor Trump and 7% back Kennedy at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
- Among men, Trump draws a similar level of support as he did in the race against Biden (49% today, compared with 48% in July). But the share of men who now say they support Harris has grown (to 44% today, up from 38% last month). As a result, Trump’s 10-point lead among men has narrowed to a 5-point lead today at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Race and ethnicity
Harris has gained substantial ground over Biden’s position in July among Black, Hispanic and Asian voters. Most of this movement is attributable to declining shares of support for Kennedy. Trump performs similarly among these groups as he did in July at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
- 77% of Black voters support or lean toward Harris. This compares with 64% of Black voters who said they backed Biden a few weeks ago. Trump’s support is unchanged (13% then vs. 13% today). And while 21% of Black voters supported Kennedy in July, this has dropped to 7% in the latest survey.
- Hispanic voters now favor Harris over Trump by a 17-point margin (52% to 35%). In July, Biden and Trump were tied among Hispanic voters with 36% each.
- By about two-to-one, Asian voters support Harris (62%) over Trump (28%). Trump’s support among this group is essentially unchanged since July, but the share of Asian voters backing Harris is 15 points higher than the share who backed Biden in July at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
- On balance, White voters continue to back Trump (52% Trump, 41% Harris), though that margin is somewhat narrower than it was in the July matchup against Biden (50% Trump, 36% Biden).
Age
While the age patterns present in the Harris-Trump matchup remain broadly the same as those in the Biden-Trump matchup in July, Harris performs better across age groups than Biden did last month. That improvement is somewhat more pronounced among voters under 50 than among older voters at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
- Today, 57% of voters under 30 say they support Harris, while 29% support Trump and 12% prefer Kennedy. In July, 48% of these voters said they backed Biden. Trump’s support among this group is essentially unchanged. And 12% now back Kennedy, down from 22% in July.
- Voters ages 30 to 49 are now about evenly split (45% Harris, 43% Trump). This is a shift from a narrow Trump lead among this group in July at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
- Voters ages 50 and older continue to tilt toward Trump (50% Trump vs. 44% Harris).
How have voters shifted their preferences since July?
With Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket, the race has become tighter.
Much of this is the result of shifting preferences among registered voters who, in July, said they favored Kennedy over Trump or Biden at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Among the same group of voters surveyed in July and early August, 97% of those who backed Biden a few weeks ago say they support or lean toward Harris today. Similarly, Trump holds on to 95% of those who supported him a few weeks ago.
But there has been far more movement among voters who previously expressed support for Kennedy. While Kennedy holds on to 39% of those who backed him in July, the majority of these supporters now prefer one of the two major party candidates: By about two-to-one, those voters are more likely to have moved to Harris (39%) than Trump (20%). This pattern is evident across most voting subgroups at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Harris’ supporters back her more strongly than Biden’s did last month
In July, Trump’s voters were far more likely than Biden’s voters to characterize their support for their candidate as “strong” (63% vs. 43%). But that gap is no longer present in the Harris-Trump matchup.
Today, 62% of Harris voters say they strongly support her, while about a third (32%) say they moderately support her. Trump’s voters are just about as likely to say they strongly back him today as they were in July (64% today, 63% then) at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Kennedy’s voters make up a smaller share of voters today than a month ago – and just 18% of his voters say they strongly support him, similar to the 15% who said the same in July.
Across demographic groups, strong support for Harris is higher than it was for Biden
Gender
Among women voters who supported Biden in July, 45% said they did so strongly. That has grown to 65% today among women voters who support Harris at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Increased intensity of support is similar among men voters who back the Democratic candidate: In July, 42% of men voters who supported Biden said they did so strongly. This has since grown to 59% of Harris’ voters who are men.
Race and ethnicity
Across racial and ethnic groups, Harris’ supporters are more likely than Biden’s were to say they back their candidates strongly.
Among White voters, 43% who supported Biden in July did so strongly. Today, Harris’ strong support among White voters sits at 64%.
A near identical share of Harris’ Black supporters (65%) characterize their support for her as strong today. This is up from the 52% of Biden’s Black supporters who strongly backed him in July.
Among Harris’ Hispanic supporters, 56% support her strongly, while 45% of Asian Harris voters feel the same. Strong support for Harris among these voters is also higher than it was for Biden in July at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Age
Across all age groups, Harris’ strength of support is higher than Biden’s was. But the shift from Biden is less pronounced among older Democratic supporters than among younger groups.
Still, older Harris voters are more likely than younger Harris voters to describe their support as strong. For instance, 51% of Harris’ voters under 50 say they strongly support her, while 71% of Harris supporters ages 50 and older characterize their support as strong.
Large gap in motivation to vote emerges between the candidates’ younger supporters
Today, about seven-in-ten of both Trump supporters (72%) and Harris supporters (70%) say they are extremely motivated to vote at 1. The presidential matchup: Harris, Trump, Kennedy.
Motivation to vote is higher in both the Democratic and Republican coalitions than it was in July.
These shifts have occurred across groups but are more pronounced among younger voters.
Today, half of voters under 30 say they are extremely motivated to vote, up 16 points since July. Motivation is up 11 points among voters ages 30 to 49 and 50 to 64, and up 6 points among those ages 65 and older.
Among the youngest voters, the increased motivation to vote is nearly all driven by shifts among Democratic supporters.
- In July, 38% of 18- to 29-year-old Trump voters said they were extremely motivated to vote. Today, a similar share of his voters (42%) report that level of motivation.
- But 18- to 29-year-old Harris supporters are far more likely to say they are extremely motivated to vote than Biden’s supporters in this age group were about a month ago. Today, 61% of Harris’ voters under 30 say this. In July, 42% of voters under 30 who supported Biden said they were extremely motivated to vote.
