What key-state voters think about Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden
The Post and GMU’s Schar School asked 152 voters in key states what they think about Harris potentially becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
President Biden’s abrupt decision to end his presidential candidacy and endorse Vice President Harris has drawn decidedly mixed reactions from a group of voters whose decisions in November could determine the outcome of the
2024 election.
“I feel relief that there is a better candidate than Biden or [former president Donald] Trump,” said a 26-year-old Arizonan. “As a Democrat, I am re-energized and more hopeful for the upcoming election.”
A 47-year-old Republican-leaning independent from Michigan strongly disagreed. “I wouldn’t give [Harris] an entry-level job, let alone hire her for POTUS,” or president of the United States.
The two were among 152 registered voters from six battleground states who responded to an email request from The Washington Post and George Mason University’s Schar School seeking their reactions to the dramatic development in the presidential election. The Arizona Democrat said they will now definitely support Harris; this spring they said they would only “probably” vote for Biden. The Michigan independent said he will not vote for Harris but also probably will not vote for Trump.
Overall, 55 of the 152 voters who responded said positive things about Harris’s candidacy, 53 offered negative views, 31 were neither fully positive nor fully negative and 13 were simply unsure what they thought about the stunning news. Those contacted were asked to provide their immediate reactions confidentially, as is typical in polls, allowing them to offer candid responses.
All of the voters who participated in the poll are part of a large pool of people The Post has classified as “Deciders,” voters who either had not been firmly committed to either Biden or Trump or whose participation in November is not wholly predictable because of their age, voting history or both. The Post’s Deciders live in one of six key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin.
An
earlier survey of these voters found them to be younger and more non-White than the electorate at large, and also more dissatisfied than the electorate as a whole about the choice of Biden versus Trump.
Many said neither Trump nor Biden fully represented their views. Now they must assess a different campaign, one in which Harris appears likely to become the Democratic nominee and Trump’s campaign retooling to face a different opponent.
“Fantastic idea,” said a 48-year-old woman from Arizona. “She is competent, capable and a great candidate for president.” A 20-year-old woman from Michigan said of Harris, “She cares about all people who live in this country and she cares about their values as well.”
