Kamala Harris surges to second spot among Democratic presidential aspirants

PTI, Jul 3, 2019, 10:42 AM IST

Washington: Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator, has surged to the second spot among more than 20 Democratic candidates eyeing the White House in the 2020 presidential run, according to a latest national opinion poll.

Former US Vice President Joe Biden is still leading the pack of Democratic presidential aspirants with 22 per cent of the vote, but his popularity rating has come down drastically following his poor performance after the last week’s first Democratic presidential debate.

Harris, 54, who outperformed Biden, 76, during the last week’s Democratic presidential debate in Florida has surged ahead to the second spot with 22 per cent of the votes, according to the Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University National opinion poll released on Tuesday.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren follows at 14 per cent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is at 13 percent, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gets four per cent, according to the opinion poll.

No other candidate tops three per cent.

This compares to a June 11, 2019 Quinnipiac University Poll which had Biden at 30 per cent, Sanders getting 19 per cent, Warren with 15 per cent, Buttigieg at 8 per cent and Harris with 7 per cent.

In the latest poll, Biden has a numerical lead among men with 22 per cent.

But among women, Harris has a slight edge with 24 per cent to Biden’s 22 per cent. The race is similarly close for white Democratic voters, with Biden at 21 per cent, and both Harris and Warren at 20 per cent.

“Harris also essentially catches Biden among black Democratic voters, a historically strong voting bloc for Biden, with Biden at 31 per cent and Harris at 27 percent,” the opinion poll said.

“Round 1 of the Democratic debates puts Harris and former Biden on two different trajectories, as support for Harris surges but continues to slip for Biden,” Mary Snow, Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst, said.

The Indian-origin Senator, whose mother was born in Tamil Nadu and father was an African-American from Jamaica, in January launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Trump, who is a Republican.

She had said that she was “honoured” to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.

If elected, she would be the first woman and woman of colour to be the president of the United States.

Harris was elected as the US Senator from California two years ago, during which she had made a national presence for her taking a tough stand against President Trump and his policies.

Harris, who is the first Indian-origin US Senator and first black Senator from California, is the fourth Democratic woman leader to enter the presidential race.