President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday came with an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, who recent polling data suggests is the strongest candidate to face former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s announcement was made via a letter to the public on social media after weeks of internal party discord between those wanting him to step down and those supporting him following a poor debate performance against Trump.
With Biden now out of the running, Democrats have a tight deadline to select a new nominee by August 7, with the Democratic National Convention (DNC) scheduled for August 19-22 in Chicago where the nominee will be officially confirmed.
Post-debate polls began exploring options beyond Biden for the Democratic ticket, pitting potential nominees against Trump. Harris emerged as the most promising candidate, closely followed by former first lady Michelle Obama. Limited data is available on Obama, but she notably outperformed Trump in a recent poll.
Vice President Kamala Harris
In a CBS News/YouGov poll from July 16 to 18, 51% of likely voters favored Trump over Harris by 48%. The survey of 2,247 registered voters had a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.
Another Reuters/Ipsos poll on July 16 showed Harris tied with Trump at 44% among registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points.
Governor Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has been mentioned as a potential alternative to Biden.
In a Data for Progress poll from June 28, Shapiro garnered 43% of the vote, but still fell short as Trump led with 46%. The survey of 1,011 likely voters had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
In the same poll, Harris received 45% support against Trump’s 48%.