Harris holds on to 1-point lead over Trump in latest Reuters/Ipsos poll

WASHINGTON - Democratic presumptive presidential candidate Kamala Harris held a marginal 1-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, closing the gap that opened in the final weeks of US President Joe Biden’s re-election bid.

The three-day poll, completed on July 28, showed Vice-President Harris supported by 43 per cent of registered voters, with former president Trump supported by 42 per cent, within the poll’s 3.5-percentage-point margin of error.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week showed Ms Harris up 44 per cent to 42 per cent.

Ms Harris consolidated her position as the presumptive Democratic candidate over the last 10 days, after

Mr Biden, 81, bowed to growing pressure within his party and dropped out of the race

. Ms Harris has since received a surge of donations and endorsements.

Overall, voters have come to view Ms Harris more favourably over the past month. The poll found that 46 per cent of voters held a favourable view of her versus 51 per cent who viewed her unfavourably. That compared with 40 per cent favourable and 57 per cent unfavourable in a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on July 2.

Trump's favourability was little changed over that time, with 41 per cent of registered voters viewing him favourably and 56 per cent unfavourably in the most recent poll.

The poll showed registered voters prefer Trump’s approach to the economy, immigration and crime, while viewing Ms Harris as having the better plan on healthcare.

The poll of 1,025 US adults, including 876 registered voters, was conducted online in English from July 26 to 28.

Nationwide polls gauge American voter support for politicians

, but the presidency is usually captured in competitive states such as Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania that shift the balance in the US Electoral College.

Running mate search

Ms Harris and her campaign continue to vet potential running mates behind closed doors, and a pick could be made soon as Ms Harris prepares to campaign alongside that person in competitive battleground states next week.

The contenders seeking that position have yet to build large national profiles, the poll suggests.

US Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly of Arizona had the highest favourability rating among this group at 32 per cent, followed by Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania at 27 per cent, Andy Beshear of Kentucky at 20 per cent, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois at 14 per cent and Tim Walz of Minnesota at 11 per cent.

About half of registered voters responding to the poll said they had not heard of Mr Kelly and were even less familiar with the others.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was not included in the latest poll, but 37 per cent of registered voters responding to last week’s poll had a favourable view of him. REUTERS