A major new national poll by CBS News, conducted by YouGov, has shown Vice President Kamala Harris with a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump, with 51 percent of likely voters nationwide supporting Harris and 48 percent supporting Trump.
A sizable portion of the electorate (64%) is still unsure about what Kamala stands for. By comparison, 86% say they know what Trump stands for.
Only 19% of voters believe Harris’s views and policy positions are completely the same as President Joe Biden’s, while 64% feel they are mostly, but not completely, the same. Another 16% believe her policies and views are mostly or completely different from Biden’s.
Nearly six in ten say Harris’s decisions as vice president have had at least some impact on the current U.S. economy (57%) and the current situation at the border with Mexico (59%).
What matters to voters?
- The economy. 83% of likely voters say it is an important factor in their vote.
Other issues are also likely to affect the upcoming elections
- Inflation was important to 76% of respondents.
- The state of democracy is a problem for 74% of likely voters.
- Crime was important to 62% of respondents.
- Gun policy, for 58%.
- The US-Mexico border, for 56%.
- And abortion, for 51%.
See how voters view these issues
- Those who see the economy as an important factor are split 56% for Trump and 43% for Harris in their voting preference.
- Those who consider inflation an important factor lean even more toward Trump, with 61% supporting the former president versus 38% supporting Kamala.
- Border-focused voters: 76% support Trump, 24% support Harris.
- Voters who consider the state of democracy an important factor are more likely to favor Kamala Harris, with 57% supporting the vice president versus 42% supporting Trump.
- Voters focused on abortion: 69% support Harris, 30% support Trump
The CBS/YouGov poll was conducted online Aug. 14-16 among a random national sample of 3,258 registered voters nationwide. The results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
The latest research from CNNwhich takes into account the results of the four most recent national polls — including this CBS poll — showed Harris with 50% support to Trump’s 48%.
