Kamala Harris ratings continue to plummet as 2024 presidential election nears: poll

The favorability rating for Vice President Kamala Harris continues to sink nine months ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.

Harris, who has largely witnessed a decline in support since taking office in Jan. 2021, is now viewed negatively by a combined 53% of registered voters, according to the results of a national NBC News poll released Sunday.

Of the 1,000 registered voters who took part in the survey, which was conducted from Jan. 26 to 30, only a combined 28% said they hold a net positive view of the vice president — a four point drop since last June.

Among those whose responses were recorded, 42% said they hold a ‘very negative’ view of Harris and 11% said they hold a ‘somewhat negative’ view of her. Only 10% said they hold a ‘very positive’ view of Harris, while 18% said they hold a ‘somewhat positive’ view of Harris.

The findings from the survey are in line with other NBC News polls taken within the last three years of President Biden’s tenure in the White House, most of which show a decline in Harris’ favorability over time.

In a November survey, 29% of registered voters said they held a net negative view of Harris, compared to 52% who said they hold a net positive view of her. In the June 2023 survey, Harris was viewed net positively by 32% of registered voters and net negatively by 49%.

Last month, Harris suggested the poor approval of the Biden administration in public opinion surveys was due to not taking ‘adequate credit’ for the administration’s accomplishments.

Harris’ comments came during a sit-down interview with journalist Katie Couric, who listed off what she believed to be a string of accomplishments for the Biden administration and asked the vice president why she believes her and Biden’s ‘approval ratings are at historic lows.’

Harris said Couric was correct that she and Biden had ‘historic accomplishments,’ but again said the administration had to let the people know ‘who brung it to them.’

‘We have a lot of accomplishments,’ she said. ‘And I think what the American people want most in their leaders is that we actually get things done, and we have done it. We haven’t taken adequate credit for it, frankly, and we’ve got to do a better job of getting the word out about what we have accomplished and who did it.’

Biden’s approval rating in some recent surveys has shown him in the 30s, potentially dangerous territory for a president in a re-election year. He has also gotten low marks on the border and the economy, although the White House touted positive news about fourth-quarter growth late last month, as GDP outperformed expectations by rising 3.3%. Inflation has cooled somewhat but continues to nag American pocketbooks.

The NBC News poll released Sunday found that Biden trails former President Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, by 23 points when voters were asked who would be a better candidate to handle the economy. 

Despite Biden’s recent argument that his administration’s economic policies are starting to work, 55% of registered voters said they believe Trump would be the better candidate to steer the economy, compared to 33% who chose Biden.

Last week, Biden told voters in Michigan that ‘inflation is coming down’ and that they had ‘created 800,000 manufacturing jobs.’

Fox News’ Michael Lee and David Rutz contributed to this report.