Former President Donald Trump is losing older voters to Vice President Kamala Harris, a new poll shows.
A survey released by Emerson College on Thursday revealed that the majority of voters over 70 are supporting Harris, 51 percent, over Trump at 48 percent.
Those results show a major breakthrough for Harris, who has been able to surpass Trump’s lead with older voters. Just last month, with President Joe Biden still in the race, 50 percent of voters over 70 supported Trump, while 48 percent of the age group backed Biden.
The over 70 category includes both baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, as well as the silent generation, anyone born between 1925 and 1945.
So far in this election cycle, older voters have tilted towards Trump, continuing a long Republican tradition among seniors. The GOP has carried voters 65 and older in every presidential election since 2000. In the last presidential election, roughly 52 percent of voters over 65 backed Trump.
But the latest Emerson College poll, combined with the inroads Biden was able to make with older voters, could suggest that things are shifting and that Harris is benefiting.
A New York Times-Siena College poll released in May found Biden leading Trump with older voters, earning 48 percent support to Trump’s 45 percent. A Fox News poll released in June also showed Biden up 15 points over Trump among those 65 and older.
Harris’ boost can be seen across age groups. Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College polling, noted in a Thursday press release that likely young voters, those under 30, have also shifted toward Harris, with 65 percent saying they’d back the vice president on election day. Last month, 56 percent of young voters said they’d vote for Biden.
Thursday’s poll, Emerson’s first since Harris rose to the top of the Democratic ticket, found her with a lead over Trump, 50 percent to his 46 percent. There are still 5 percent of likely voters who say they’re undecided on November’s election, but even among those, Harris leads Trump 52 percent to 48 percent.
The poll also found Harris with a higher favorability than Trump. Over half, 51 percent, said they have a favorable view of the vice president, compared to just 45 percent who said the same of Trump. Trump was also less favorable, with 55 percent of respondents describing him as unfavorable, compared to 49 percent who said the same of Harris.
Their running mates share similar favorability, with 39 percent of voters saying that they find Governor Tim Walz and Senator JD Vance “very” or “somewhat” favorable. However, more voters found the Republican candidate unfavorable, with 49 percent describing their views of Vance as “unfavorable,” compared to 39 percent who said the same of Walz.
Emerson College’s poll was conducted on August 12 to 14 and sampled 1,000 registered voters. It has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points. The July survey was conducted between July 7 and 8 and sampled 1,370 registered voters. It had a margin of error of +/-2.6 percentage points.
The New York Times‘ May poll, which included 4,097 respondents, was conducted from April 28 to May 9. It had a margin of error of +/-1.8 percentage points. The Fox News poll from June, which included 1,100 respondents, was conducted between June 14 to 17. It had a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
