Harris still fared better against Trump than any other potential Democratic nominee, poll finds

New poll indicates any Democratic candidate would have had a near impossible time defeating Trump

Though Vice President Kamala Harris did not defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, she was still the strongest Democratic candidate to take him on, according to recent polling.

In a Say24 / YouGov survey of 5,136 registered voters, 46 percent said they cast their ballot for Harris. That figure wasn’t enough to win her the White House, as Trump secured an easy Electoral College win. But, the poll found that Harris had a higher percentage of votes against Trump than other potential Democratic candidates did against the Republican nominee.

In the aftermath of Harris’ loss, some Democratics blamed Joe Biden’s late dropout for her performance. They said the party should have had a full primary to put forth a different candidate who could have done better against Trump.

The poll found that if Biende remained in the race, only 41 percent said they vote for him over Trump - well behind Harris’s 46 percent.

And Biden wasn’t the only candidate she outperformed.

Though she lost the 2024 presidential election to Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris was the strongest Democratic candidate to run, a new poll found (AFP via Getty Images)

Had Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro been the nominee, just 37 percent of respondents said they would have voted for her and 6 percent said they wouldn’t vote at all.

Forty-four percent said they’d vote for Trump while 10 percent said they were unsure who they would vote for.

Shapiro, who was rumored to be a vice presidential contender for Harris, has emerged as a prominent leader in the Democratic Party. However, he is relatively unknown to the majority of the United States.

In a hypothetical matchup between Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Trump, 38 percent of respondents said they’d vote for Whitmer while 48 percent said they’d still vote for Trump.

Fewer respondents said they weren’t sure who they’d vote for – an indication that Whitmer has slightly more familiarity with her name.

An analysis of the hypothetical found that Whitmer performed best with young college-educated voters. She also did better among Black and Hispanic voters than Shapiro and slightly better with women.

But still, Whitmer and Shapiro’s numbers are significantly behind Harris’s, indicating that no matter who the Democratic candidate was it was going to be difficult to defeat Trump.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is considered a potential candidate for president in 2028, but would have not done well against Trump, the poll noted (AP)

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was reportedly considered for Harris’s running mate. He too would have done poorly against Trump in 2024, the poll noted (REUTERS)

Already, Democrats had pressured Biden to drop out of the race because his polling numbers plummeted after the first presidential debate. Harris replaced Biden in the hopes of winning back voters who were skeptical of a second Biden administration while also appealing to a wider swath of citizens.

Democrats were hopeful Harris’s campaign would win them the presidency but many underestimated how bitter much of the country has become due to high inflation, unaffordable housing, increasing immigration and escalating tensions abroad.

Though some have sought to scapegoat Harris for losing the presidency, the recent survey shows it would have taken an extraordinary candidate to convince voters to stick with the Democratic Party.

Liberals will have another chance to secure the White House in 2028 and preliminary polling shows Harris still has the foundation to run as a strong candidate.