Just 37 percent of respondents said Vice President Kamala Harris should be the Democrat nominee in place of President Joe Biden, a YouGov survey taken July 21, the day President Joe Biden announced that he is not seeking reelection, found.
The survey asked, “Who should Democrats nominate as their new candidate for president?”
Just 37 percent, overall, said that Democrats should nominate Vice President Kamala Harris. Over one-third, 35 percent, said “someone else,” and over a quarter, 27 percent, said they are “not sure.”
Independents are not in favor of Harris, as a plurality, 36 percent, said the Democrat nominee should be “someone else.” Another 30 percent said it should be Harris, and 34 percent are “not sure” as well.
Notably, 60 percent of Democrats said Harris should be the nominee, but another 40 percent total either think it should be someone else or they are not sure.Of that 40 percent, 21 percent said it should be “someone else,” and 19 percent remain unsure.
The survey was taken among 2,048 U.S. adults.
YouGov also asked respondents that same day if they even approve of Biden’s decision not to seek reelection, and a majority, 71 percent, said they either strongly or somewhat approve. Among Democrats specifically, 70 percent either strongly or somewhat approve as well.
They survey comes as major Democrat players begin to rally behind Harris after Biden threw his support behind her.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden said after his initial announcement, praising it as the “best decision I’ve made.”
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
He added:
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Other major Democrats have since come out in support of Harris, including North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Hillary Clinton, who described Harris as a “brilliant prosecutor.”