Voters trust Harris more than Trump on economy: poll
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For the first time this election cycle, voters trust the Democratic candidate more than former President Trump on the economy, according to new polling released by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan.
Why it matters: The share of voters who say they don't trust either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris fell by nearly half — another example of the disappearing "double hater."
- The survey "marks a sharp change in voter sentiment following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the White House race" last month, according to the FT.
What they're saying: "The fact that voters were more positive on [Vice President] Harris than on Biden ... says as much about how badly Biden was doing as it does about how well Harris is doing," Michigan professor Erik Gordon told the paper.
By the numbers: Before the president bowed out of the race, 35% of registered voters said in July that they trusted Biden more than Trump to handle the economy, while 41% threw their support behind the GOP nominee.
- August polling found seven point boost for the Democratic ticket after Harris assumed the reins, with 42% of those surveyed saying they trust the vice president more handle the economy, regardless of their opinion of her and how they plan to vote.
- Trump's numbers remained unchanged from the previous month.
- Ten percent of respondents said they trusted neither candidate — down from 18% in July.
Yes, but: Still, only 12% of respondents said that they believe Harris' economic policies will leave them "much better off" financially, while 22% said the same for Trump's policies.
- A larger share of voters (43%) also reported trusting the former president to handle trade issues with China over Harris (39%).
Zoom out: Since polling conducted in March, the largest swath of voters have listed economic issues as the most important factor driving their vote for president as fears of a recession continue to plague the nation.
- Only a net 25% of registered voters reported positive economic conditions in the country in the latest round of polling.
Zoom in: A majority of respondents said Harris should diverge from the president's economic policies, with 60% saying she should make major changes or take a different approach.
- Harris saw a higher approval rating than Biden, with 46% of registered voters saying they approved of the way she was handling her role as vice president, while 41% said they approved of Biden's handling of his job as president.
Methodology: The poll of 1,001 registered voters was conducted online from August 1-5 and has a margin of error of ± 3.1 percentage points.
Go deeper: War and recession fears test Harris campaign's momentum
Editor's note: The story has been updated with additional reporting throughout.
