[US Election 2024]
In voter favorability captured by exit polls in the U.S. presidential election, Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris slightly outpaced Republican candidate former President Donald Trump. However, it remains uncertain how this favorability will ultimately be reflected in the election results under the U.S. electoral college system and winner-takes-all rule.
According to the preliminary exit poll results released by CNN on Election Day, November 5 (local time), 46% of voters expressed a favorable view of Vice President Harris. In contrast, 42% responded that they held a favorable view of former President Trump. Additionally, about 8% of all voters answered that they had a negative view of both candidates. This is slightly higher than in the previous election.
More than half of the voters said former President Trump was too extreme. Thirty-six percent of voters rated Vice President Harris as extreme, and 8% said both candidates were extreme. Five percent responded that neither was extreme. Eight out of ten voters said they had already decided whom to vote for before last September. Less than one in ten voters said they made their decision last week.
On the same day, preliminary exit poll results released by the polling agency Edison Research also showed Vice President Harris's favorability ahead of former President Trump. Forty-eight percent of voters had a positive view of Vice President Harris. Former President Trump’s favorability was lower at 44%. Voter favorability toward both major party presidential candidates was lower than in the previous election (Joe Biden 52%, Trump 46%). Negative feelings toward Vice President Harris and former President Trump were reported at 50% and 54%, respectively.
More than four out of ten voters heading to the polls expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of the United States. In this exit poll, 43% of voters said they were dissatisfied with the current situation in the U.S. Nineteen percent said they were satisfied, and only 7% said they were enthusiastic about it.
However, CNN added that such exit poll favorability has limitations in predicting the final election results. CNN explained that "it is a powerful tool for understanding the demographic profile and political views of voters in this year’s election."
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