Harris carries positive favorability into VP bid: poll

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is starting her campaign as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate with a net-positive approval rating, according to a new ABC News-Ipsos poll released Thursday. 

Thirty-seven percent of registered voters say they view her favorably, while 32 percent said they have an unfavorable view of her. By comparison, Vice President Pence is viewed favorably by 33 percent of voters and unfavorably by 47 percent of voters.

Forty-seven percent of voters also rate Biden’s pick of the California senator as his running mate as excellent or good, including 83 percent of Democratic voters and 68 percent of Black voters. Twenty-nine percent overall rated Biden’s pick as poor or not so good.

Harris’s favorability rating makes her the only person who will appear on a 2020 White House ballot for a major party who is viewed net-positively among registered voters. Forty-two percent of registered voters view former Vice President Biden favorably, while 44 percent view him unfavorably, and President Trump’s favorability rating is deeper underwater with a negative net approval rating, 35 percent favorable to 59 percent unfavorable.

Biden announced Harris would join his campaign Tuesday, ending months of speculation and making the California lawmaker the first woman of color to appear on any major party’s presidential ticket.

The former vice president remarked on the gravity of his decision in his announcement, saying he was inspired by her work as California attorney general and as a senator and that she would be ready to take over as president should the need arise.

“You make a lot of important decisions as president. But the first one is who you select to be your Vice President. I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence,” Biden wrote in an email to supporters.

Forty-three percent of registered voters in the new poll said they believed Harris would be very or somewhat qualified to serve as president if it becomes necessary, while 33 percent said she was “not too well” or “not well at all” qualified. 

Biden’s announcement sparked attacks from Republicans, but the GOP still appears to be searching for an effective strategy to target the California senator. 

The ABC News-Ipsos poll surveyed 930 registered voters from Aug. 11 to 12 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points