According to a New York Times/Sienna College poll published on Sunday, more voters view Vice President Kamala Harris as “too liberal or progressive” on key policy issues compared to those who consider former President Donald Trump “too conservative.” The poll shows Trump with a narrow lead over Harris, 48% to 47%, indicating that the boost Harris received from the Democratic National Convention after replacing President Biden on the ticket may be diminishing as the election nears its final stages, Fox News reported.
The poll data revealed that nearly half of voters, 44%, consider Harris to be “too liberal and progressive,” while 42% believe she is “not too far either way.” In contrast, the majority of voters view former President Donald Trump as “not too far” to either side on key issues, with only about one-third of voters describing him as “too conservative,” according to Fox.
The New York Times reported that Trump’s lead over Harris as a more centrist candidate is one of his “overlooked advantages.” The Times noted: “Yes, he’s outside of the political mainstream in many respects — he denied the result of the 2020 election. And yes, he does have conservative views on many issues, like immigration. But he’s also taken many positions that would have been likelier to be held by a Democrat than a Republican a decade ago, like opposition to cutting entitlements, support for a cooperative relationship with Russia or opposition to free trade. It’s a reputation he’s careful to protect, from saying he doesn’t support Project 2025 to his cagey position on additional measures to restrict abortion.”
The poll also indicated that 11% of voters think Trump is “not conservative enough,” while 9% believe Harris is “not liberal or progressive enough.” This poll follows a similar one from late July, which showed Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% after President Biden withdrew from the race due to increasing concerns about his mental acuity. The poll on Sunday also revealed that 28% of voters feel they need more information about Harris before supporting her, compared to just 9% who feel the same about Trump.
Harris conducted her first sit-down media interview late last month with CNN’s Dana Bash, in a joint appearance with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. However, she has largely avoided the media otherwise. As of Sunday, Harris has gone 49 days as the presumptive and now official Democratic presidential nominee without holding a formal press conference, Fox added.
