Is Harris or Trump the ‘change’ candidate in election? What Americans said in new poll
Slightly more Americans see Vice President Kamala Harris as representing change compared to former President Donald Trump, according to new polling.
In the latest New York Times/Siena poll, 46% of respondents said Harris embodies change more, while 44% said the same of Trump.
While the results were within the margin of error, they mark a departure from previous Times/Siena polls, in which more respondents viewed Trump as the change candidate.
Predictably, most Democrats (88%) and Republicans (80%) said their party’s nominee represents change more, while independents were evenly divided between the two candidates at 44% each.
A majority of women, 52%, said Harris is more of a change candidate, while the same share of men said Trump is more representative of a new direction.
Additionally, half of white voters said Trump is more of a change candidate, while 41% said the same of Harris. Among non-white voters the divide was much starker, with 61% siding with Harris and 29% with Trump.
The poll, conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, sampled 3,385 likely voters and has a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.
Historically, presidential contenders compete to be seen as the candidate of change. This is viewed as an effective strategy since voters have been signaling for decades they are unhappy with the direction the country is moving in, according to The New York Times.
The poll also found that 49% of respondents said they’d vote for Harris if the election were held today, while 46% said the same of Trump.
This marks the first time Harris has led Trump nationally in the poll since July — when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed the vice president.
Additionally, 49% of respondents said Harris cares more “about people like you,” while 41% said the same of Trump. Similarly, 48% said the vice president is more “honest and trustworthy,” compared to 37% who said the same for Trump.
On the other hand, Trump was seen as more of a strong leader by 48% of respondents, while 45% said the same of Harris.
This story was originally published October 8, 2024 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Is Harris or Trump the ‘change’ candidate in election? What Americans said in new poll."