Voters Split on Kamala Harris as Running Mate

California Senator Kamala Harris was announced as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate this week. After months of interviewing and vetting potential candidates, Biden decided on Harris after considering a final four consisting of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and former national security advisor Susan Rice. A new poll shows a plurality of support for Harris as Biden’s running mate but a majority either still have questions or aren’t her biggest fans.

In a new poll from Ipsos and ABC News, 47 percent of respondents who are registered voters in the U.S. said Harris was a good or excellent choice for a running mate. That’s nearly 20 percentage points higher than those who said she was a not so good or poor choice. Still, nearly a quarter of respondents said they still weren’t sure or didn’t have an opinion of her.

In what is perhaps good news for the Biden and Harris ticket, 83 percent of Democratic registered voters said Harris was a good or excellent choice and 68 percent of Black respondents said the same.

Compared to current Vice President Mike Pence, Harris has a four percentage point lead in favorability and is 15 percentage points below Pence in unfavorability. Overall, the Ipsos/ABC News poll shows voters see Harris as more honest, caring and inspiring than Pence. The two running mates are set to square off for the first time in an October debate, which will be held in-person at The University of Utah in Salt Lake City.