The Biden-Harris Campaign has reportedly commissioned an internal poll to gauge how Vice President Kamala Harris would perform as the Democrat nominee versus former President Donald Trump.
The New York Times reported on the development Thursday, citing three anonymous sources who “are informed about it.” The report comes as musings on the left about replacing Biden at the top of the ticket continue in the aftermath of his disastrous debate performance, which sent shockwaves through the Democratic Party.
“They did not specify why the survey was being conducted or what the campaign planned to do with the results,” according to the outlet’s Maggie Haberman, Shane Goldmacher, Reid Epstein, and Lisa Lerer, who note this appears to be the first Trump versus Harris poll commissioned by the campaign since the debate.
It is unclear what outfit is conducting the survey for the campaign.
The Times further noted that Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez and Campaign Chair Jennifer O’Malley Dillon worked to reassure staff in an internal memo that Biden remains the most viable candidate and that he has a path to victory:
In addition to what we believe is a clear pathway ahead for us, there is also no indication that anyone else would outperform the president vs. Trump. Hypothetical polling of alternative nominees will always be unreliable, and surveys do not take into account the negative media environment that any Democratic nominee will encounter. The only Democratic candidate for whom this is already baked in is President Biden.
Notably, a poll from the reputable Emerson College Polling published Tuesday showed Trump with an even bigger lead over Harris than he has over Biden. It found that Trump led Biden by three and Harris by six nationally in hypothetical two-way races.
News of the internal Harris versus Trump poll on Thursday coincided with a report from the Times that some of Biden’s close allies are devising strategies to convince him to end his candidacy.
Additionally, NBC News detailed Thursday afternoon that several sources in Biden’s orbit say his bid for the White House is a lost cause.
“He needs to drop out,” one Biden campaign official told NBC News. “He will never recover from this.”
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