A new poll has revealed that Kamala Harris is now the top choice to replace President Joe Biden on the party’s ticket for the November presidential election.
Democrat voters have warmed to having Vice President Harris replace Biden as the party’s presidential nominee.
However, they still believe Biden is their best shot at beating President Donald Trump, according to a poll.
In recent days, Biden has resisted pressure to step down after rattling Democrats with his disastrous debate performance against Trump last month.
A new poll from The Economist/YouGov found that 73% of Democrat voters approve of Harris as the nominee if Biden steps down.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came far behind Harris with 57%.
Notably, both candidates challenged Biden in the 2020 Democrat primary and lost.
During the 2020 Democrat primary, Harris performed very poorly and dropped her campaign before the Iowa caucuses.
Other names often floated as Biden’s successors fared even worse than Harris.
California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom received 50%, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) received 45%.
The poll reinforces the view among many Democrats that nominating Harris is the least risky and most realistic way of solving the party’s Biden problem.
Replacing Biden with Harris would allow Democrats to avoid a messy fight at their party convention in August.
However, Democrats seem unable to agree on whether Biden should step aside to begin with.
42% of Democrats say Biden should step aside and 43% say he should not.
Similarly, 42% favor handing the nomination to Harris if Biden quits, but a robust 40% would prefer a short primary to find a different candidate.
Among all Americans, 48% expect Trump to win the election.
Just 29% think Biden will win.
However, 59% of Democrats still think Biden will beat Trump, and just 48% say the same for Harris.
There may be no way for Democrats to avoid a perception of chaos if they change candidates just months before a presidential election.
And there is no guarantee that Harris would be a stronger candidate.
According to the poll, more Americans believe Harris is unqualified to be president (45%) than think she is qualified (41%).
Despite Harris’ unknowns, a growing number of Democrats seem to think that leaving Biden on the ticket is a riskier proposition.
The pressure on Biden has been especially strong from figures with ties to Barack Obama’s universe, including actor George Clooney, who urged Biden to step down in a New York Times editorial Wednesday.
Biden has furiously swiped at liberal “elites” in his party, accusing them of trying to ignore the will of voters after he won the Democrat primary.
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