The battle for the White House is now effectively tied as Trump’s six-point lead over Joe Biden was squashed to just two points after Harris took his place as election frontrunner for the Democrats, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Accounting for a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, that puts Trump and Harris neck and neck ahead of the November vote.
Both candidates were fanning out across the US on Saturday, with Trump insisting he will resume outdoor campaign rallies against the advice of the Secret Service, two weeks after surviving an assassination attempt at a fairground in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Black, Latino and young voters all showed greater support for Harris than they did for Biden, 63% to 51%, a finding that could help Harris in crucial swing states, including Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
However, the poll contained a warning for Harris with her 63% support among minority ethnic group voters still below the 73% that voted for Biden four years ago, although above the 51% the President had been registering until quitting the race.
Still, around four out of five voters in both parties now say they are enthusiastic about their candidate. The poll found that 81% of Democrat voters were enthusiastic about Harris, compared to 37% who had expressed the same for Biden.
Pollster Mike Bocian described the change as “astounding”.
The poll also indicated that support for independent and third-party candidates, including Robert F Kennedy jnr, is now hurting Trump more, with Harris pulling one point ahead of Trump with Kennedy in the race.
Last week, Kennedy was reported as making overtures to Trump, offering to throw his support behind the former President, possibly in exchange for a Cabinet portfolio if Trump wins in November. The Trump campaign declined the offer.
Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin. Photo / Daniel Torok
On Saturday, Trump accused Harris and the media of “trying to erase Harris’s disastrous record as border czar. They have failed”.
At a speech in Florida to rally his religious base, he said she “was a bum three weeks ago” and “a failed Vice-President”.
Trump told supporters at the West Palm Beach rally, hosted by the grassroots conservative group Turning Point Action, that if they returned him to the presidency in November, they would not “have to vote again”.
“Christians, get out and vote! Just this time – you won’t have to do it any more,” Trump said. “You know what? It’ll be fixed! It’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote any more, my beautiful Christians.”
He added: “I love you. Get out – you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
The Trump campaign is also confronting misgivings about JD Vance, the Vice-President pick made mere days before Biden abandoned his re-election run. The Journal poll found that Vance was viewed favourably by 42% of people and unfavourably by 44%.
Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, denied reports the Republican nominee was having second thoughts about his choice.
“President Trump is thrilled with the choice he made with Senator Vance, and they are the perfect team to take back the White House,” Cheung told Newsweek. “And any reporting to the contrary is nothing but ridiculous fake news from either non-existent sources or individuals who have no idea what’s going on.”
Vance has been under attack by Democrats over comments he made to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight three years ago in which he described Harris as one of a group of “childless cat ladies”.
Harris does not have biological children, but does have two stepchildren, Cole and Ella Emhoff, who call her “Momala”.
JD Vance is running mate to Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
Kerstin Emhoff, ex-wife of second gentleman Doug Emhoff and mother to Cole and Ella, called the attack “baseless”. Harris, she said, “is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it”.
Harris’s stepdaughter Ella, a knitwear designer who lives in Brooklyn, New York, wrote “I love my three parents” in an Instagram post.
In an interview with Sirius radio host Megyn Kelly broadcast on Friday, Vance said women had thanked him for his cat lady comments. “This is not about criticising people who, for various reasons, didn’t have kids,” Vance said. “This is about criticising the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child.”
He added: “Obviously it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats. I’ve got nothing against dogs, I’ve got one dog at home and I love him.”
