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Vice President Kamala Harris had 49% of the vote in a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, compared to 45% for Donald Trump. The poll was conducted over Aug. 9-13 and showed Harris narrowly leading Trump in a “head-to-head matchup,” and with a slightly smaller lead in a race with a third-party candidate.
The poll’s margin of error means Harris’ lead isn’t statistically significant, but it is a sign of how the party’s fortunes have changed since President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race.
At the Democratic National Convention starting Monday, Harris and her running mate Tim Walz will have an opportunity to further define themselves for voters — and keep her campaign’s momentum going heading into the fall. “The candidate who sets the narrative usually wins the contest,” one Democratic pollster wrote in The Economist.
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The poll also shed light on how voters have reacted to Harris’ decision to pick Tim Walz as a running mate, and Trump’s choice of JD Vance. Some 52% of voters approved of Harris’ choice of Walz, while 45% approved of Trump’s choice.
Notable
- Democrats are preparing for a convention unlike any other in recent memory, Semafor’s Kadia Goba and Benjy Sarlin wrote, with organizers balancing spotlighting their new candidate, a long list of political heavy weights, and A-list stars with reaching swing voters and key Democratic constituencies.
- Protesters plan to march on the DNC Monday, Semafor’s David Weigel reported, with some estimating tens of thousands of people will join from a coalition of pro-Palestinian, anti-war groups.