President Joe Biden is facing criticism over his age and ability to run for President this election cycle. However, a new Politico/Morning Consult Poll reveals that his runner-up, Kamala Harris, is causing her own reservations in voters’ minds.
The poll found that only around a third of voters think that Harris has a likely chance to win the presidential election if she were to become the Democrat nominee.
National Poll
The new poll from Morning Consult and Politico was conducted between May 28 and May 29 on almost 4,000 registered voters across the United States including topics around Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and others.
The poll asked respondents a series of questions with set responses around their feelings about political candidates and figures, claiming to have a plus or minus 2% margin for error.
Survey of the Field
One of the questions in the survey asked respondents to choose from a list of potential answers who they would want to be the Democratic candidate for president if Joe Biden was not running.
The top answer given by 41% of respondents was “don’t know/no opinion.” Harris ranked highest among the named answers at 21%, followed by Pete Buttigieg at 10% and Gavin Newsom also at 10%.
Ability to Win
Only one-third of voters surveyed think Harris has the ability to win a presidential contest as the Democratic nominee.
Even among Democrats, Harris only fares a little better. Three out of five Democrats thought she could win an election, while only a quarter of independents thought the same.
Kamala Harris’ Leadership
The survey then goes on to ask questions related to qualities Harris might have. On the question of “Is Kamala Harris a strong leader” only 21% of respondents said this describes her perfectly.
The top response, with 38%, said that strong leadership “Doesn’t describe [Kamala] at all.”
Harris’ Trustworthiness
Again on the question of trustworthiness, the top answer with the most respondents thought that the quality of trustworthiness didn’t describe Harris “at all.”
These results line up with a May USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll which found that only 38% of Americans have a favorable view of Harris, below that of Trump and Biden who are also viewed unfavorably.
Kamala’s Honesty
When asked if voters think that Harris is honest the numbers were split pretty evenly. 44% of voters think honesty perfectly or somewhat describes Kamala Harris’ character, with the same percentage saying it doesn’t describe her well or at all.
These questions had five options. Two were positive and two were negative responses. The remaining option for respondents was “don’t know/ no opinion.”
Ability to Serve
This latest survey underscores the uncertainty felt among American voters about Harris’ ability to serve in the role of president should something prevent Biden from carrying out presidential duties.
In February, ABC News reported that an 86% majority of Americans think Biden is too old to serve as president.
Staying in Her Lane
A common sentiment felt among Democrats is that Harris has not done enough to distinguish herself as a politician in her role as vice president, which is a common theme among vice presidents.
“She’s done an admirable job on reproductive health and issues important to the Black community and related to youth. But at the same time, she’s falling into the same spot that many vice presidents fall into, which is that she doesn’t have a very public role outside of her lane,” said RL Miller, a “longtime fan” of Harris and outgoing member of the Democratic National Committee from California.
Lack of Accomplishments
One possible reason American voters in the survey don’t think Harris has what it takes to be president may have to do with the difficulty of communicating the accomplishments of what she has done for the American people.
“We talk to Americans and they can’t really give voice to all the accomplishments of the president and the vice president, even when they’ve been big and super important,” said Gretchen Barton, a Democratic strategist who has conducted research on voters across swing states. “That’s a real problem because people are ultimately looking for someone who can get things done and they are waiting to hear what’s been delivered.”
Harris Debate
This election cycle, both Trump and Biden have expressed an unwillingness to debate one another, each at times accusing the other of dodging debates.
This opens up an opportunity for the vice presidents to garner more attention for their own election debates this cycle, and a chance for Harris to distinguish herself.
Good on Issues
Joel K. Goldstein, a historian of vice presidents feels like Harris has been on a good trajectory so far, but just needs to find a way to get attention to turn around the public’s perception of her.
“If you look at the trajectory of her vice presidency, it’s really been positive both in terms of the significant international exposure that she’s had and the role she’s played as a spokesperson on issues of that are central to Democratic voters, said Goldstein. “But in this climate, it’s hard for a vice president to get the attention and get the notice.”
