As more Democrats back Vice President Kamala Harris as their choice to take on former president Trump in November, national party leaders are boasting of a renewed enthusiasm among their ranks with some labeling her likely nomination as the catalyst Democrats needed.
In Texas, however, Harris supporters might need every ounce of newfound excitement they can get to help elevate her favorability, which recent polling shows is even lower than that of President Biden.
A statewide poll by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows that, as of June, 43% of Texas registered voters surveyed held a “very unfavorable” view of Harris, while 8% had a “somewhat unfavorable” view. That’s compared to only 15% who had a “very favorable” view of the vice president and 20% who held a “somewhat favorable” view.
Those numbers are less than Biden’s favorability rating, which was 39% – though 53% held an “unfavorable view” of the president.
Hardly surprising is the partisan breakdown, which shows nearly four-fifths of Republican voters – about 77% – found Harris “very unfavorable” and another 6% found her “somewhat unfavorable.” Democrats boost Harris’ overall standing in Texas as 34% and 37% held “very favorable” and “somewhat favorable” views, respectively, of the likely presidential candidate.
After Biden’s decision Sunday to drop out of the race, Texas Republicans quickly assailed Harris and the Biden administration on immigration, saying Harris failed to stop the record number of unauthorized crossings during her tenure as the White House’s border czar.
Joshua Blank, director of research for the Texas Politics Project, said Harris’ border czar moniker isn’t a major source of Texans’ displeasure with her. Texas Republicans, he said, will zero in on immigration to paint the Biden White House weak on border security regardless of who the nominee is.
“I don't think that a lot of voters are really aware of the fact that (former) Senator Harris was elevated to this sort of nominal term of borders czar upon assuming the vice presidency,” said Blank. “The border is the issue that drives Republican voters. It's an issue that Democrats have a hard time with. And regardless of whether the Democratic nominee was named Biden, is named Harris – or ends up being named somebody else – immigration and the border will be a primary message that Republicans will drive to voters.”
Harris’ favorability in Texas has slightly dipped since February, according to the Texas Politics Project poll. That month 38% found her favorable, three percentage points higher than June’s figures. And 47% found her “unfavorable” in February, compared to 51% at the end of June. Blank credits that shift to talk about Harris eventually replacing Biden ticking up during that same time frame.
“As well-known as Harris might be from afar, she's not very well known to a large, large share of the electorate,” he said. “This extended conversation about Biden's candidacy has probably brought a bigger spotlight to Harris. That, in turn, means that many voters who aren't necessarily aware of who she is –most likely to be independents and Republicans – are now learning why they should have a negative view of her.”
The same poll showed that as of June 2024 a majority of registered voters thought Biden, 81, is too old to be president. Sixty four percent agreed with the statement while 28% said “no.” Only 8 % said they didn’t know.
Nationally, Harris trailed Trump by about two percentage points, 47% to 45% according to an analysis of national polls conducted by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ. That’s near the 2.5% deficit Biden faced in the same surveys.
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