Vice President Kamala Harris lagged President Biden's approval rating in 2020 among several demographic groups, and the gap could widen in an increasingly close race.
“Most polls show Harris is receiving significantly less support than Biden among black voters, Hispanic voters, working-class voters and younger voters,” Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital.
The comments came after a Wall Street Journal analysis of polling data released this week found Harris still struggling in key demographics that have played a crucial role in Democratic victories in national elections. The vice president has made up ground in the polls since Biden's decision to drop out of the race, but she still hasn't performed as well as the president did in 2020.
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Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Kenny Holston Pool/Getty Images)
One group where Harris is struggling is with black voters, where she is 10 points below what Biden won in 2020. She is also trailing Biden among Hispanic voters (6 points), voters under 30 (12 points), men (4 points) and women (2 points).
Meanwhile, Trump continues to make inroads with minority communities that Republicans have had a hard time reaching: The former president now has 20% of black men's approval rating and trails Harris by just one point among Hispanic men, 48% to 47%, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
The numbers may offer a glimpse into why Biden is joining Harris on the court. The president and vice president campaigned together for the first time over Labor Day weekend. Biden is also seeing positive momentum in his approval ratings, up 13 points in just a few months in a USA Today/Suffolk poll.
Democratic presidential candidates Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden arrive at a campaign event at the IBEW Local 5 union hall in Pittsburgh on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin) (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
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A Wall Street Journal analysis said that if Harris can't match Biden among minority voters, Trump could try to siphon off his traditionally strong white base. But the analysis also found that Harris outperformed Biden in 2020 among white voters, both college-educated and non-college-educated, in seven key battleground states.
“Harris is outperforming Biden among college-educated elites and suburban women,” Epstein said. “This not only signals a likely slight Trump lead, as Nate Silver has noted, but also suggests a longer-term realignment in which Democrats are becoming the party of elites and Republicans are becoming the party of working-class populists.”
But Harris could win a close race if she can turn out enough white voters.
Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, August 29, 2024. REUTERS/Elisabeth Franz (Reuters)
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“Because white voters make up more than 70% of those who participate in elections, a small increase in white voters could offset a large decline among voters from minority groups,” the analysis noted.
The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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