Harris closes gap with Trump among Latinos in battleground states amid momentum, new poll finds

Since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, experts predicted she had room to improve the Democrats' stance with certain demographic and in different states. Now, as early polls of her candidacy come in, a new poll shows the VP is seemingly gaining popularity among Latinos in battleground states.

A recent poll by BSP Research and reported by New Republic provides reasons for optimism among Democrats, as it shows Harris with a significant lead over her opponent, former president Donald Trump, among Latinos, a group that is considered to be key ahead of this year's elections. The survey was conducted between July 23-26, right after President Biden ended his reelection bid on July 21.

In that study, the firm suggests Harris leads Trump by 55% to 37% among Latinos in battleground states such as Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. They suggest that lead even has room to grow.

"Harris enters as the nominee with a very strong lead among Latinos," says BSP Research Latino pollster Gary Segura. "We focused only on the battlegrounds, with a large enough sample in them to arrive at a confident estimate of the two-party vote in the states that will actually decide the elections— not in states where the outcome is already determined, like Texas and California.

Although the Vice President's popularity with this demographic is apparent, she seemingly is still trailing behind Biden himself in 2020, when he hovered around 60% of support among Latinos. However, Biden had been steadily losing ground, with Trump able to almost entirely close the gap between himself and Biden among Latinos. Now, Trump is viewed favorably by only 39% of Latinos.

"Harris has strengthened and consolidated support," Melissa Morales, president and founder of Somos PAC, said. "[Trump has] very low favorability within the Latino community. The more we remind them who Trump actually is, the more we expect that to go down."

These figures coincide with other polls previously conducted testing a Harris-Trump face off.

For instance, a New York Times/Siena College poll of over 1100 registered voters nationwide between July 22-24, showed Democrats mostly rallying behind Harris as the presumptive nominee, with only 14% saying they would prefer another option.

Among Latinos, a significant number of Democrats, moderates and young voters in the group seemed to largely switch back to Harris. 60% of Hispanic respondents said they would vote for the Vice President if the presidential election were held today, compared to 36% who said they would do the same for Trump.

With the Democratic National Convention a few weeks away, and Harris clinching the Democratic nomination, focus is now shifting to who she will pick to be her running mate.

Among the names being thrown around, none of the two seemingly leading vice presidential contenders showed a substantial advantage over the other among Latinos. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is viewed favorably by 31% and unfavorably by 17%. For Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, those numbers are 33% and 20%.

Vice President Harris is expected to announce her pick for running mate by Tuesday, after conducting weekend interviews with contenders in her Washington home, Reuters reports.