A recent poll shows that Vice President Kamala Harris is gaining support in swing states, suggesting a potential alleviation of the age-related challenges facing the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential campaign caused by President Biden’s age.
According to Bloomberg, a joint poll conducted by the media outlet and Morning Consult in early May revealed that nearly half of swing state voters (48%) believe that if 81-year-old Biden is unable to continue serving as president, they trust Kamala Harris to fulfill the presidential duties. This marks the highest level of voter confidence in this regard since the survey was first conducted in October last year.
Harris, the first female, Black, and Asian American Vice President of the United States, has recently participated in a series of high-profile events resonating with grassroots Democratic voters.
Political scientist Christopher Devine, co-author of a book on vice presidential candidates, remarked, “Some people think voters don’t give much consideration to who the vice president is and whether she is capable of taking over, but that idea is foolish.”
While confidence in Harris has seen an uptick among swing state voters, she trails Trump by 7 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup, whereas Biden trails Trump by 4 percentage points in the same poll.
The poll also indicates that if Biden were unable to continue his campaign, voters view Kamala Harris as the top choice among Democratic rising stars for a presidential candidate. These political rising stars include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
Biden defeated Harris in the 2020 Democratic primaries and then chose her as his running mate. In Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign, Harris remains his running mate.
Trump has yet to select a running mate, but while agreeing to a presidential debate with Biden, he also challenged his future running mate to a vice presidential debate against Harris.