More voters say they trust Vice President Harris to handle the economy than they do former President Trump, according to a poll released Monday by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Harris leads Trump 42 percent to 41 percent in the August poll when respondents were asked which candidate they trust to handle the economy, regardless of whom they plan on supporting in November.
The finding marks the first time the Democratic candidate has inched ahead of the GOP candidate on the economy question since the monthly poll began tracking voter sentiment on the issue last year.
Harris’s lead is boosted by a jump in her own support — not from any change in Trump’s. Voter trust in him remains unchanged from recent months, at 41 percent.
While Harris’s lead over Trump remains within the margin of error, her jump in the polls over President Biden’s July performance is statistically significant.
Harris’s August numbers showed a 7-point improvement over Biden’s performance in July, when he was trusted by 35 percent of voters to handle the economy. That poll followed similar results in June (37 percent), May (35 percent), April (35 percent) and March (34 percent).
Harris’s rise in voter trust on the economy comes from voters who previously answered the question by saying they “trust neither” candidate.
In the August poll, 10 percent said they trust neither candidate, down from 18 percent in July and 17 percent in June. Those who say they are “not sure” increased by 1 point in August, to 5 percent, up from 4 percent in July and 3 percent in June.
The issue of the economy has long been viewed as pivotal in an election cycle, and Trump long had the edge on the issue over Biden.
The new poll was conducted Aug. 1-5 with 1,001 interviews. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
