Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates

In less than 48 days, Vice President Kamala Harris will go head-to-head with Donald Trump as Americans cast their votes in the 2024 election.

For the first time in over three years, the average of Kamala Harris’s favorability in the polls is at a neutral rather than negative position; while Trump, VP candidate Vance, and even incumbent President Joe Biden continue to suffer an overall unfavorable perception.

As Trump reels from a second assassination attempt, this time at his own West Palm Beach golf club, the candidates are preparing for an intense final stretch of the campaign, with the needle ready to swing either way.

Yet polls following last week’s presidential debate show that while Harris “won,” neither candidate saw a real boost or loss in support; and Trump still holds public trust on key issues.

So how will Harris and Trump fare in November?

Harris has a 2.9-point lead over Trump in the latest average of national polls, collated by FiveThirtyEight. On average, Harris has been marginally ahead of Trump in national polls.

Most notably, the vice president has suffered overall negative favorability ratings since July 2021, which is not uncommon for those holding public office.

However, for the first time in over three years, Harris’s positive and negative favorability ratings are equal, according to the average of all favorability polls collated by FiveThirtyEight.

The debate may have been Harris’s chance to turn around her public perception, and ultimately foster a more favorable opinion of herself and her campaign.

The same cannot be said of Trump, whose net favorability is at a -9.9 negative rating, and has been negative since the last election. JD Vance also entered the race with a negative rating, which has