Trump has gained a big lead in the presidential race, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll, as voters have become more positive about Trump’s speech and track record, and more negative about Kamala Harris.
Trump leads Harris by 2 points, 47% to 45%, according to the WSJ’s national poll, while Harris was 2 points ahead in an August poll of a third-party and independent candidate. Both margins include the polls’ margins of error, meaning she could have been ahead on either day.
The poll suggests that some of the positive impressions that had built up over the election, after a barrage of negative campaign ads and the candidates’ own performances, have worn away after Harris was rallied as the presumptive and then-confirmed Democratic nominee to replace President Biden.
Harris is weighing the situation, and has become more negative since August, when voters were equally positive and negative. Now, she has an 8-point lead, 53% to 45%, in negative territory. In addition, voters have given Harris her worst job as vice president in all three of the Journal’s questions since July, with 42% approving and 54% disapproving.
In contrast, views of Trump have become more positive. Voters are more positive about Trump’s presidency than they were before this election, with 52% approving of him in office and 48% disapproving. Harris has a 12-point negative rating, compared with a 4-point positive rating.