An initial national exit poll of voters in this year's presidential election has revealed interesting insights into the public perception of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
According to the poll results, approximately 46% of voters hold a positive view of Vice President Harris but not of former President Trump. Conversely, about 42% of voters have a positive view of Trump but not Harris.
The poll also indicates that around 8% of voters nationally have negative views of both candidates, a slight increase from the previous election cycle but a significant decrease from 2016.
When it comes to perceptions of extremism, close to half of voters believe that Trump, but not Harris, is too extreme. On the other hand, about 36% of voters think that only Harris is too extreme, with 8% stating that both candidates exhibit extreme tendencies.
Interestingly, nearly half of voters express optimism or excitement at the prospect of a Harris win, with similar sentiments expressed for a potential Trump victory. However, more than one-third of voters admit they would specifically feel scared if Trump were to win, compared to fewer than 3 in 10 for Harris.
Exit polls for the 2024 general election are based on interviews with thousands of voters, including those who voted on Election Day and those who cast their ballots early or via absentee voting. These polls provide valuable insights into the demographic profile and political views of voters in this year's election, although they are subject to margins of error and should be treated as estimates rather than precise measurements.
The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool and involved a combination of in-person interviews with Election Day voters and telephone and online polls with early and absentee voters. The full sample of 18,354 respondents has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with larger margins for specific subgroups.
