Top Pollster Responds To Harris Addition To Ticket: They ‘Will Have To Do A Lot To Secure The Vote’

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On "Forbes Newsroom," HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho said that Vice President Kamala Harris will need to win over voters to secure her spot in the 2024 election.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

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00:00Pretty much instantaneously after we saw President Biden drop out, we saw the Democratic Party

00:06really coalesce around Kamala Harris.

00:09We saw this coronation around Kamala Harris.

00:11And if I was part of the Harris campaign, hearing you say these are the best days of

00:16the campaign, I mean, I would be feeling a little nervous right now.

00:20So she has this momentum.

00:21She has seen historic fundraising numbers over the past few days.

00:25She has been embraced by Gen Z.

00:27On this last day, and when do you think it will stop?

00:32Well, 81 percent of voters across the country view that President Biden took the step aside

00:43from the campaign favorably and positively.

00:47That includes 90 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents.

00:55So that is – I'm sorry – and 55 percent of independents actually viewed the decision

01:03to appoint Kamala Harris as the successor in the campaign, right?

01:08So those two data points tell you everything, that while an overwhelming majority of voters

01:17in the 80 percent plus range favored President Biden stepping aside, when it comes to President

01:26Harris, right, she still has to make the case as to why voters should vote for her and why

01:33she deserves their vote.

01:34So as I mentioned, 55 percent approve of Biden's decision to endorse Vice President Harris

01:42to become the Democratic nominee for president.

01:45And that's also 54 percent of independents.

01:48But it's not an overwhelming number.

01:49It's almost split.

01:51And so that's a data point that shows that the campaign will have to do a lot to secure

01:59the vote.

02:00And overall, about 25 percent of voters still say that they have not made up their mind.

02:07That's a very important data point.

02:10If 25 percent or a quarter of the electorate still saying that I'm weighing my options,

02:15then there's a lot of room for movement in one direction or another.

02:21Do you think because there's so many people who now are undecided that the VP pick matters

02:27all the more?

02:28Because historically, the vice presidential pick doesn't really help a candidate.

02:33But because of the historic nature of Kamala Harris's candidacy here, do you think because

02:38she has such little runway left between now and November, that matters all the more?

02:44I think that the vice presidential pick from the Harris camp can matter on a state level

02:51basis.

02:53And again, you hear rumors of the governor of Pennsylvania, Joe Shapiro or Mark Kelly,

03:02the senator from Arizona, being on a potential shortlist of candidates.

03:08And that's because both Pennsylvania and Arizona matter amongst swing states.

03:17That said, on a national level, it's unlikely to really change the numbers and help her

03:22that much, leading us to that old quip in American politics that a vice presidential

03:27candidate can only hurt you, but rarely do they help you or do they help move the numbers

03:33on a sustained basis.

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