What Latinos think about VP Kamala Harris
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As pressure mounts for President Biden to step down from the Democratic ticket, some strategists have been trying to assess Vice President Kamala Harris' standing with Latinos and other voters who will play a key role in the upcoming elections.
The big picture: Harris is adamant she is not seeking the nomination, but political strategists have been exploring all possible avenues in case Biden drops out of the race.
- "Vice President Harris is proud to be President Biden's running mate," Brian Fallon, Harris' campaign communications director, told Axios in a statement.
State of play: Axios Latino, in partnership with Noticias Telemundo and Ipsos, has been polling U.S. Latinos' opinions of Harris since 2021.
- As of March, 39% of respondents in the poll said they had a favorable opinion about Harris, compared to 48% in December 2021.
- That puts her slightly behind Biden's favorability, which was 41% in March and 53% in December 2021.
Yes, but: The share of respondents who have an unfavorable opinion of Biden is about the same as for Harris, "which suggests that her reputation all in all is a little bit better, a little bit stronger with the Latino community," Ipsos senior vice president Chris Jackson says.
- Still, about one in five Latino respondents said they don't have an opinion on Harris, "so there is still a little bit of introduction that would need to happen with the community," Jackson says.
- "But that still puts her in a better position than Biden is in, or Donald Trump, whose negatives are much higher," he says, adding that she's also ahead of national figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is not as well-known as Harris among Latinos.
A new poll out Wednesday of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents in swing states points to strong support for Harris to take over the ticket if Biden were to step down.
- 67% of overall respondents in the poll by Way to Win, a progressive group that connects donors with campaigns, said they'd support Harris stepping in.
- 52% of Latino respondents said the same.
- The poll was of 2,074 voters, including 260 Latinos. The margin of error is +/-2.3%.
What they're saying: Way to Win president Tory Gavito says that although Harris is about as popular as Biden, her favorability rises when voters are told about her work for reproductive rights and the economy.
- "What's more striking is there's more room to grow. Because she's doing well with young people and voters of color particularly, it shows that we can continue to raise the feeling with those critical portions of the Democratic base that Biden's been struggling with over the course of the cycle," Gavito says.
- "Democrats can't afford to waste any time not doing all we can to defeat MAGA and that means boosting the ticket we have," Gavito adds.
Zoom in: Harris has held several Latino-centered events during her tenure as VP, including one in Phoenix last month to discuss Latinas' access to abortion rights.
- She's gathered Latina lawmakers to fight against abortion restrictions and convened Latino leaders on issues such as voting rights, AI and immigration.
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