One shows Biden’s lead widening; other a tightening race.
As Democrats headed to their convention Monday, two nationwide polls conducted after the selection of Indian American Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate presented a divergent picture of the 2020 White House race.
One showed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Biden ahead of President Donald Trump by double digits, while the other showed a significant tightening of polls.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday morning reported that more than half of registered voters, 53 percent, prefer Biden, while 41 percent favor Trump.
That 12-point advantage, however, came hours after a CNN poll published Sunday evening showed Biden’s lead tightening to only 4 points with a Trump surge.
Fifty percent of registered voters in that CNN survey preferred the Democratic ticket, Biden and Harris, and 46 percent supported the Republican incumbents, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Both surveys were conducted last Wednesday through Saturday, amid Biden’s long-anticipated rollout of Harris as his running mate.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, 2016 Democratic presidential aspirant Bernie Sanders, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, former Ohio Governor John Kasich and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are among the top names set to speak virtually on the opening night of the Democratic convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, a Politico report suggested that in less than a week as Biden’s running mate, Harris “is showing signs she can act as an accelerant to his bid.”
“In the few days since Harris joined the ticket, Biden has seen surging fundraising, promising polls and the rare sight of a hometown crowd — despite not being able to hold a rally.”
“I think she brings with her the energy of every Black woman in the country,” former Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, the first Black woman elected to the chamber, and only one besides Harris, was quoted as saying.
The campaign, it said, is confident she can help with a number of constituencies, including African Americans, suburban women and, given her history in California, Latinos in states like Arizona, Florida and Texas.
Meanwhile, Sanders defended Harris on Sunday, saying that despite Democratic Party infighting over policy proposals, a majority of progressives understand the importance of defeating Trump in November.
Sanders spoke highly of Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, noting that she’s “incredibly smart [and] incredibly tough.”
“I think she’s an asset for the Biden campaign, and I think she’s going to do great on the campaign trail,” he said on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos.
But some progressives — particularly those who supported Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic primaries — disagreed with the decision to pick Harris, Politico reported.
Some cited her prosecutorial past as an issue, saying it doesn’t meet the moment with Black Lives Matter protests in full swing.
Sanders‘ former national press secretary, Brianna Joy Gray, took to Twitter to call out the decision, stating: “The contempt for the base is, wow.“
We are in the midst of the largest protest movement in American history, the subject of which is excessive policing, and the Democratic Party chose a “top cop” and the author of the Joe Biden crime bill to save us from Trump.
“The contempt for the base is, wow.”
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