Former President Donald Trump is dominating among Independents in a head-to-head matchup against Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a poll released Thursday.
On Sunday, Democratic lawmakers, political figures, and donors rallied behind Harris following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. Biden released a letter on X stating that while he initially intended to run for reelection, he believed it was best for the country and his party to focus on the remainder of his term.
Among independent voters, Trump holds a 20-point lead over Harris, securing 53% of the support compared to Harris’s 33%. Another candidate option garnered 9%, with 4% of voters undecided, according to Rasmussen Reports.
The survey, conducted on July 22-23, polled 1,074 likely U.S. voters and has a margin of error of +/-3%, according to Rasmussen Reports.
“We have done more Harris polling than almost any pollster. So this is no surprise to us. And it’s consistent with our last Biden v Trump poll. She did not improve on Biden,” Rasmussen said in a Thursday post on X.
Rasmussen’s national poll also shows Trump leading significantly over Harris, with 50% of voter support compared to Harris’s 43%, 4% for another candidate, and 3% still undecided.
The new polling comes after Harris secured the necessary delegates to be considered the party’s presumptive presidential nominee ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August. On Sunday, Democratic lawmakers, political figures, and donors threw their support behind Harris following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race. Biden released a letter on X stating that while his intention was to run for reelection, he believed it was best for the country and his party to focus on the remainder of his term.
Biden notably endorsed Harris in a second post online, triggering a wave of support for the vice president.
Biden’s decision follows significant backlash over his debate performance against Trump, during which he struggled to finish his statements and froze mid-sentence. Despite Republicans highlighting Biden’s frequent gaffes throughout his term, Democrats and legacy media only began to raise concerns about his mental fitness after the debate.
A post-debate CBS/YouGov poll showed that 72% of Americans no longer believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve in office, an increase of seven points from a similar survey in early June.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
