As America heads through the final two weeks of the 2024 presidential election, a new poll shows Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on the lower end of the favorable scale used for past presidential nominees.
Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm, has measured presidential nominees using the 10-point favorability rating scale dating back to 1956.
The scale shows both candidates are closely matched, with Trump favorability 50% and Harris 48% in the sampling of adults Oct. 1-12. The unfavorable portion has Trump at 48% and Harris 50%.
Other polling on top issues influencing voting put the economy, immigration and abortion as a consensus top three. The economy comes in variations, meaning some polls break it down to multiple parts such as inflation or jobs.
“A key difference between Donald Trump and me? Trump prefers to run on problems. I plan to fix them.” Harris posted to social media Tuesday morning.
Americans gave Trump and Harris either a highly positive or a highly negative rating rather than a moderately positive or negative rating, showcasing the divide in today’s political climate.
Harris campaigns on an “Opportunity Economy.” As vice president, she’s been part of the Biden administration pushing renewable energy and the theory of climate change.
Trump has forged his campaign to end reckless government spending and has honed a catchphrase of “Drill baby, drill.”
Trump’s favorability rating is close to what he scored (47%) in 2020 and well above (36%) the 2016 number, a record low. Hillary Clinton was at 50% in 2016.
According to the poll, no other candidate was rated higher than 26% on the unfavorable scale until 2016, when Trump first ran for president. He was at 61% and won 304 electoral college votes.
Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower holds the highest score (84%) for favorability in 1956.
