By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It has been an eventful couple of weeks in the 2024 Presidential race.
Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee and is set to face off against Donald Trump in November. New head-to-head polling shows the race between the two candidates tightening.
Following the debate between former President Trump and President Biden, Trump saw a major boost by as many as six points in the polls.
Now, with Biden out, Democrats are energized around Harris.
Latest polls show Trump with a lead over Harris, but only by about one point.
“I think that there is a genuine excitement that this is not going to be Biden versus Trump 3.0,” said Casey Burgat, Assistant Professor and Director of Legislative Affairs at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. “The question out there remains, is this support from Kamala Harris specifically, or is this support from anyone that isn’t Joe Biden?”
There’s no way to tell if that energy and excitement is temporary or if it will last through November. However, Burgat says if Harris can resonate with more voters, it will boost her chances in November.
“If she comes out strong, if she comes out personable, if she gets people’s fears about her cast aside and turned into excitement, absolutely,” said Burgat.
Harris recently saw a big boost in her approval rating after President Biden exited the race and endorsed her.
Changing minds and changing perceptions will be crucial for Harris, Burgat says. But doing so in such a contentious election cycle, on a shortened timeline, will be even more challenging.
“There’s a way to introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself to the American people. And knowing what people fear about her, they’re going to absolutely attack those fears and say why they’re unfounded. This is what the campaign’s all about,” said Burgat. “She’s just doing it on a compressed timeline and we’re not sure how effective that will be knowing that she has 98 days instead of the two years of what it takes to run for president.”
The voting process to officially name Harris as the Democratic nominee is expected to begin this week via electronic ballots sent to convention delegates.