Poll: Democrats Still See Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris as Party Leader

Most Democrats still see Vice President Kamala Harris as the best leader for their party, a new Rasmussen Reports survey found. 

Despite her crushing defeat, 54 percent of Democrats see Harris as the best leader for the party, while 20 percent say President Joe Biden is the better leader. Eleven percent say House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would be the best option, followed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (5 percent). 

Out of overall likely voters polled, 31 percent back Harris and 15 percent support 82-year-old Biden. Another 12 percent say Jeffries is right for the job, while 7 percent back Schumer. 

“Thirty-four percent (34 percent) are not sure which of the current Democratic Party leaders is best,” according to the survey report. 

Since the election, a few polls have been released gaging Harris’s popularity, both on the federal level and as a potential candidate for California governor. Harris has not said what she plans to do when she leaves the White House. 

Recent polling from Echelon Insights also showed Harris leading her closest potential 2028 Democrat presidential contender by 33 points.

Harris leads the field at 41 percent, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 8 percent, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at 7 percent, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 6 percent, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at 6 percent. 

However, 59 percent of poll respondents said they would prefer someone else. 

Another poll conducted before the election and released after Harris’s loss floats her as a potential candidate for California governor. Current Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) cannot seek reelection because of term limits.

The poll, which was co-sponsored by the left-leaning Los Angeles Times and the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, shows Harris may benefit from some name recognition in a potentially crowded field.

Out of overall California voters, 33 percent say they are very likely to support her, and 13 percent say they are somewhat likely. Thirty-six percent say they are “not at all likely to support her,” while six percent say they are “not too likely,” and 12 percent are undecided.

Democrats are unsurprisingly more supportive than Republicans of Harris running for governor. Over half (54 percent) of Democrats say they are very likely to support her, and 18 percent say they are somewhat likely, while a whopping 84 percent of Republicans overwhelmingly reject her potential candidacy. There are nearly twice as many registered Democrats in the state as there are Republicans, state data shows.

Voters with no party preference are more split about Harris, with slightly more rejecting than accepting her. The survey found that 35 percent say they are “not at all likely to support her,” and 9 percent say they are “not too likely,” while 24 percent back her completely, and 14 percent say they are “somewhat likely.” Nearly 2 in 10 (18 percent) of voters in this category are undecided.

The Rasmussen Reports poll was conducted with 800 likely U.S. voters between November 12-14, 2024. The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.