Harris vs. Trump latest presidential poll: VP debate’s impact on new numbers
A new national poll shows that the presidential race has tightened in the wake of Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s debate performance.
The poll from Yahoo News/YouGov shows Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Republican former President Donald Trump among registered voters by 2 percentage points—48% to 46%. The previous Yahoo News/You Gov poll, taken just after September’s presidential debate, had Harris up by 5 points, 50% to 45%.
With third-party candidates included, Harris’ lead falls to 46% to 45% and, among likely voters, the two are tied at 47% each.
The poll also shows most people’s minds are made up on how they will vote. Eighty-seven percent said they will “definitely” vote for a certain candidate with only 7 percent saying they could change their mind before election day and 6% uncertain.
VP debate impact
The results show the bump Harris received following a strong debate performance has likely faded while Vance’s debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appears to have boosted the Trump campaign. The poll showed 41% thought Vance won the debate compared to 32% who thought Walz came out ahead. A notable 19% thought the debate was a tie and 8% weren’t sure who won.
According to the poll, 37% said they viewed Vance favorably, an improvement of 6 percentage points from September but lower than the 43% who said they viewed Walz favorably. More registered voters (48%) said they viewed the Ohio Senator unfavorably as compared to 40% who said the same about Walz.
The two are virtually tied on the question of who Americans think is ready to serve as president if needed with Vance at 37% and Walz at 38%.
The Yahoo News/You Gov poll was conducted Oct. 2-4 among 1,714 adults. The margin of error is 2.9%.