Investing.com-- Donald Trump maintained a small lead over Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden stepped down earlier this week, heralding a potentially tight presidential race with just over three months left to the ballot, a New York Times poll found.
Republican nominee Trump held an approval of 48% among likely voters, leading Harris slightly, who stood at 47%, a NYT/Siena College poll found this week. The poll was conducted between July 22 and July 24, and had a margin of error of around 3.3 to 3.4 percentage points.
Among registered voters, Trump held an approval of 48%, while Harris tailed a bit more at 46%.
Harris polls better than Biden, tight race ahead
Harris was seen polling better than Biden, whose approval had fallen well behind Trump’s in the aftermath of a seemingly disastrous debate with Trump in June, which eventually led to his pulling out of the race.
Harris swiftly garnered support from within the Democratic party, and now has support from enough delegates to be the party’s presumed nominee. She will be officially nominated with a virtual roll call by the Democratic party ahead of the national convention in August.
The NYT poll showed about 70% Democratic voters stating that they wanted the party to consolidate behind Harris. She is yet to nominate a running mate, with potential picks including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Harris, 59, is the former Attorney General of California, and had seen calls for her nomination as presidential candidate even before Biden stepped down.
Responding to her endorsement by Biden, Trump had said that she would be easier to defeat.
But Harris’ catching up in the polls presents a potentially tight race this year. Other polls released through the week also showed Harris almost neck and neck with Trump.
Trump had last week picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.
The Republican nominee was seen gaining a boost in approval after a failed assassination attempt earlier in July, several surveys showed.