Voter Interest in Trump-Harris Presidential Race Rises, Analyst Now Predicts Record-High Turnout

‘It’s not just enthusiasm. It’s actually people saying that they’re going to go out and almost certainly vote,’ the analyst says.

AP
Vice President Harris on July 22, 2024, and President Trump on July 26, 2024. AP

Recent polls suggest that voter participation in the 2024 election may surpass previous records, CNN’s data analyst Harry Enten says.

In earlier surveys, it appeared that voter interest for the upcoming election was low. However, new polling data shows a significant increase in voter engagement, the analyst said.

“We were looking at a much, potentially much lower turnout this go around in 2024 than 2020,” he said Wednesday on CNN, noting that before the June 27 presidential debate, just 55 percent of registered said they were excited to vote.

“But look at where we are now. We are now at 62 percent after the RNC, after Kamala Harris gets into this race. And that is actually a higher number than what we saw during the summer of 2020 when it was 60 percent,” Mr. Enten said.

“So at this particular point, as we look at the math right now, if we are trusting what voters are saying, it’s actually possible we’ll see higher turnout than what we saw in 2020, which is what you pointed out was record turnout,” he said.

The CNN analyst added: “So quite the shift here. It’s not just enthusiasm. It’s actually people saying that they’re going to go out and almost certainly vote,” he said.

A significant portion of the American electorate held unfavorable views of both President Biden and President Trump, according to a Pew Research survey taken before the debate.

The group, known as “double haters,” reached its highest percentage at this stage in the past 10 presidential election campaigns, nearly doubling since 2020 to 25 percent.

That has changed, Mr. Enten said. “The fact is, voters are much more apt to at least like one of the candidates. And I think that’s part of the reason why voters are much more likely to turn out. Because if you dislike both major party candidates, why actually turn out and vote?”


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