Kamala outshines Trump on major election issue

When it was Trump vs. Biden, Donald thought he had the election in the bag. But now that President Biden has dropped out of the race and has been replaced by Kamala Harris, things have gotten a lot more complicated.

Donald Trump has held one advantage over Kamala Harris since she took over the top of the 2024 Democratic ticket: he was thought to be the better candidate for the economy. However, that view is changing. 

New polling from the Financial Times conducted by the University of Michigan Ross Business School found that Harris is now more trusted than Trump on the economy. That is bad news for the former president. 

The survey is the first new monthly polling data showing a Democratic candidate ahead of Trump on the economy since Ross Business School began tracking this metric more than a year ago, according to the Financial Times.  

42% of the 1,001 registered voters that were questioned said they trusted Harris and her ability to handle the economy, compared to 41% who said the same for Trump. The numbers may seem close, but they are much better than what Joe Biden inspired in voters.

Trump’s numbers on the economy were unchanged from the previous month’s poll data, but Harris was able to improve Democratic standing on the issue by 7 points compared to what Biden was able to muster in July.  

Harris also performed better with registered voters than Biden when it came to approval ratings. Harris enjoyed a 46% approval rating for her job as Vice President, compared to Biden, who only received a 41% approval rating for his job as President.  

“The fact that voters were more positive on Harris than on Biden … says as much about how badly Biden was doing as it does about how well Harris is doing,” said University of Michigan professor Erik Gordon, according to Financial Times.

The new survey data also showed that the economy could become a major policy issue for Harris if she plays her cards right and distinguishes herself from Biden on the matter. 

60% of those surveyed said that Harris should break completely from Biden’s economic policies or “make major changes” to his platform, according to Financial Times. If Harris can distinguish herself, it could prove the ticket to victory in November. 

“Since polling conducted in March, the largest swath of voters has listed economic issues as the most important factor driving their vote for president as fears of a recession continue to plague the nation,” Avery Lots of Axios explained. 

Lots also pointed out that not everything in the new Michigan Ross Business School survey was in Harris’ favor. For example, only 12% of respondents believed Harris’ economic plans would leave them “much better off” while 22% said the same for Trump. 

A larger portion of those polled also said that they trusted the former president more to handle trade issues with China, at 43% compared to 39% who said the same for Harris. 

Still, the polling is good for the Democrats and shows that Harris has had a substantial impact on the race, though it shows there is still work to be done—something that Erik Gordon also noted according to the Financial Times.

“The poll is good news for previously anxious Democrats, but their worries aren’t over because voters still see themselves better off with Trump as president, and most voters think of their interests first and grand policy questions second.”

Other polling has seen Trump ahead of Harris on the economy, according to CNBC, which pointed to its most recent All-American Economic Survey that found the former president was ahead of Harris on the economy 2-to-1. 

Regardless of how Americans are feeling about either Harris or Trump’s potential to improve the economy, the issue is likely set to become one of the many main deciding factors in November. But which candidate will capitalize on this issue is more up in the air than ever it seems.