Vice President Kamala Harris is losing momentum, as former President Donald Trump appears to be closing the gap, according to an Emerson College survey released on Thursday.
The latest national survey of the presidential race found Harris leading Trump with 49 percent among likely voters — two points higher than Trump’s 47 percent. However, that is well within the survey’s ± 2.9-3 percent margin of error.
It also reflects a shift away from Harris over the last month. In August, Harris saw 50 percent support from likely voters, and Trump came in four points behind, with 46 percent support. In other words, Trump has closed the gap by two points over the last month, gaining one point in support while Harris has lost one point in support.
This is something Trump predicted, in part, as he said in August that Harris’s “honeymoon” period would come to its eventual end.
“Oh, it’s gonna end. The honeymoon period’s gonna end,” Trump told reporters before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. “Look, she’s got a little period. She’s got a convention coming up.”
In other words, Trump predicted that Harris’s honeymoon period would begin to end once people really got to know her.
“It’s not about her. I think she’s incompetent because I’ve watched her. She destroyed California. She destroyed San Francisco. Everything she’s touched has turned to bad things,” he said.
“I want to use — I’m not going to use foul language, but everything she’s touched has turned bad. She’s incompetent,” he continued, blasting her on policy, as well.
“She wants to open borders. She wants to defund the police … She wants to take away your guns. Anybody that thinks they’re not going to come after your guns — you know, when I was president, I totally protected the guns, and I think it’s very important,” he added.
WATCH — Trump: Harris’s Honeymoon Period Will End When People Get to Know Her
Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, added more perspective to September’s survey, noting that suburban voters are virtually split between the two.
“Suburban voters are split overall: 48 percent support Harris and 47 percent Trump,” Kimball said. “Within this lies a gender divide, suburban men breaking for Trump by 17 points, 57 percent to 40 percent, and suburban women breaking for Harris by 18 points, 56 percent to 38 percent.”
The survey also identified the economy as the top issue for voters at 43 percent — a strong suit for Trump — followed by immigration at 15 percent and threats to democracy at 14 percent.
“Those who say the economy is the top issue facing the country break for Trump, 62% to 36%, as well as immigration, 84% to 13%. Those who say threats to democracy break for Harris, 84% to 12%, along with housing and abortion,” the survey observed.
The survey was taken September 3-4, 2024, among 1,000 likely voters.
This poll coincides with the latest McLaughlin & Associates survey, which shows Trump pulling ahead of Harris by two percentage points.
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