News - Harris ahead of Trump in first US national poll since Biden dropped out of  presidential race

US Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found, Reuters reports. Harris, whose campaign says she has secured the Democratic nomination, led Trump 44% to 42% in the national poll, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error. The poll was conducted on July 22-23, when incumbent US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and supported the candidacy of Harris instead. Harris and Trump were tied at 44% in a July 15-16 poll, and Trump led by one percentage point in a July 1-2 poll, both within the same margin of error. According to a recent poll, some 56% of registered voters agreed with a statement that Harris, 59, was "mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges," compared to 49% who said the same of Trump, 78. Some 80% of Democratic voters said they viewed Biden favorably, compared to 91% who said the same of Harris. Three quarters of Democratic voters said they agreed with a statement that the party and voters should get behind Harris now, with only a quarter saying multiple candidates should compete for the party's nomination. By this time, Harris had received enough support to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. According to an Associated Press survey, 2,579 party delegates are ready to vote for her, in case of the necessary 1,976 votes. When voters in the survey were shown a hypothetical ballot that included independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Harris led Trump 42% to 38%, an advantage outside the margin of error. Kennedy, favored by 8% of voters in the poll, has yet to qualify for the ballot in many states ahead of the November 5 election.