A new survey released Monday by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business reveals a significant shift in voter sentiment: Vice President Kamala Harris now leads former President Donald Trump on handling the economy.
In the August poll, Harris outpaces Trump by 42 percent to 41 percent when voters were asked which candidate they trust more to manage the economy, regardless of their November voting intentions. This marks the first instance since the poll began tracking this issue last year that a Democratic candidate has surpassed Trump, who has portrayed himself as the strongest candidate on economic matters.
The shift is attributed primarily to a notable increase in Harris’s own support, rather than any decline in Trump’s standing, which remains steady at 41 percent. Harris’s rise is particularly striking when compared to President Biden’s performance in July, where he was trusted by only 35 percent of voters to handle the economy. Biden’s numbers had been consistently low in previous months: 37 percent in June, and 34 percent in March.
Harris’s improved standing reflects a significant 7-point gain over Biden’s July performance. This change is largely due to a decrease in voters who previously said they trusted neither candidate, dropping from 18 percent in July to 10 percent in August. Meanwhile, the percentage of undecided voters has risen slightly to 5 percent.
The poll, conducted from August 1-5 with 1,001 interviews, has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
