With Biden’s future looking uncertain, 61% of Democrats said the country would be in good hands were Vice President Kamala Harris to move into the White House, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Meanwhile, 21% of Democrats lack confidence in Harris’s abilities and another 21% say they don’t know enough to form an opinion.
The survey was conducted while more Democrats than ever clamored for Biden to ditch his reelection campaign. Since President Biden’s debate debacle with former President Trump, increasing numbers of Democratic officials have called on Biden to quit the 2024 presidential race.
Many officials believe Harris could do a better job against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Recent surveys have found that Democratic voters are souring on Biden as well. 64% percent of likely Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters from a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll of Massachusetts residents desire someone other than Biden to take on Trump. 65% percent of Democrats indicated in the AP-NORC national poll that Biden ought to bow out.
Harris, 59, has been the subject of rigorous behind-the-scenes discussions about this potential plan B. However, she has publicly reiterated her endorsement for the president.
But the rest of America — those outside the Democratic Party — are more skeptical that Harris has what it takes to make it in the Oval Office. Less than three in 10 Americans think Harris would make a good president, while almost half believe she wouldn’t; two of every ten are undecided.
Harris has net favorable ratings much the same as Biden does, but also lower negatives. The survey found that just under 4 in 10 of U.S. adults have a favorable view of Harris, while about half had an unfavorable one.
Increasing calls for Biden to drop out mean the Democratic party needs to find a replacement. Harris is more well known among Democrats compared to others thought of as potential candidates, like Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA).
