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Vice President Kamala Harris is winning over some of former President Donald Trump's supporters, according to a new CNN poll.
Harris is viewed as the front-runner to win the Democratic presidential nomination after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race over the weekend, following weeks of pressure from Democrats concerned about his ability to win in November and polls showing him behind Trump in key battleground states.
With Biden's endorsement, Democrats quickly rallied around Harris, who has appeared to secure enough delegates to officially become the nominee at the Democratic National Convention next month.
Harris, like Biden, has trailed Trump in the polls for months. But her supporters argue she is more capable of running a robust campaign that could win over swing voters while increasing the already mounting Democratic enthusiasm for the race.
Several new polls this week suggest a tight race between Harris and Trump and that Harris may already be pulling stronger numbers than Biden.
A CNN poll released on Wednesday found that Harris is gaining some of Trump's supporters, though the former president continues to hold a lead overall. The poll showed Harris trailing the former president by three points (49 percent to 46 percent).
Still, the poll found that 95 percent of Biden's supporters are continuing to stick with Harris, while she is winning over 5 percent of Trump's former supporters.
Trump is winning over a smaller number of Biden's supporters, according to the poll. Three percent of those who previously backed Biden are now supporting Trump, who retained 92 percent of his past supporters.
Harris is winning 94 percent of Democrats, while Trump is winning 91 percent of Republicans. However, he continues to hold a narrow lead among independent voters (46 percent to 43 percent).
The poll, conducted from July 22 to 23, surveyed 1,631 registered voters who had previously participated in CNN surveys in April or June. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris and Trump campaigns via email for comments.
A June CNN poll found Trump leading Harris by 2 points (47 percent to 45 percent) and Biden by 6 points (49 percent to 43 percent). That poll surveyed 1,274 registered voters from June 28 to June 30, the days following the presidential debate that sparked concerns about Biden's ability to win the race.
Several other polls have shown a tight race after Biden dropped out.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted from July 22 to 23 among 1,018 registered voters, found Harris leading Trump by 2 points (44 percent to 42 percent) in a head-to-head matchup. With other candidates included, she led by 4 points (42 percent to 38 percent).
A Marist College poll, conducted among 1,117 registered voters on July 22, found Trump leading by one point (46 percent to 45 percent), but found the race was even with other candidates included. Harris and Trump each received 42 percent support in that case.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more