Harris' and Trump's contrasting strengths, how election polling has changed, and more

Get the latest Pew Research Center findings and everything you need to dive deeper into the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Ahead of tonight's debate, a new Center survey finds that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump bring contrasting strengths and weaknesses to the presidential contest.

• Trump’s key advantage is on the economy, which voters regard as the most important issue this year. A 55% majority of voters say they are very or somewhat confident in Trump to make good decisions about economic policy, compared with 45% who say the same about Harris.
• Harris’ lead on abortion is a near mirror image of Trump’s lead on the economy: 55% of voters are at least somewhat confident in Harris when it comes to abortion policy, while 44% express confidence in Trump.
• Harris holds sizable leads over Trump on several personal traits, including being a good role model (+19 points), down-to-earth (+13) and honest (+8).
• Explore how Harris and Trump supporters' views of the candidates differ

Most U.S. polling organizations (61%) used methods in 2022 that differed from what they used in 2016. And change has continued since.

• The number of active polling organizations has grown significantly, indicating that there are fewer barriers to entry into the polling field. The number of organizations that conduct national election polls more than doubled between 2000 and 2022.
• And many of the more prominent polling organizations that use probability sampling – including Pew Research Center – have shifted from conducting polls primarily by telephone to using online methods, or some combination of online, mail and telephone. The result is that polling methodologies are far more diverse now than in the past.
• More key things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024

Dive deeper

• The political values of Harris and Trump supporters show wide differences over cultural issues, role of government and foreign policy
• Black voters support Harris over Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by a wide margin
• As Kennedy exits the presidential race, a look at which voters supported him
• Key facts about Democrats and Republicans in the U.S.
• Find everything Election 2024 on our website
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This newsletter was curated by Claire Dannenbaum, assistant audience editor. Shoot us a note with your thoughts at [email protected] .