A recent Boston University poll has revealed that the Democratic National Convention (DNC) negatively impacted former President Donald Trump’s image among independent voters but did not result in a positive boost for Vice President Kamala Harris. The findings may explain why Harris did not experience an increase in her polling figures after the convention, despite receiving favorable media coverage.
The message conveyed during the DNC was primarily anti-Trump rather than pro-Kamala, with a strong emphasis on highlighting Trump’s negative attributes. However, this focus on Trump did not result in an association between Harris and positive attributes, as the convention failed to create a positive image for her.
In a press release from Boston University, it was noted that while the results indicated Democrats had successfully emphasized Trump’s negatives for voters, the convention had not succeeded in linking her with positive traits.
The changes we are seeing, pre- and post-DNC in how Independents perceive Donald Trump is quite staggering,” said Anne Danehy, a former pollster and associate professor of the practice teaching political campaigns at Boston University’s College of Communication. The Democratic National Convention did a good job of cutting into Trump’s image, but those positive images were not transferred to Harris.
Danehy emphasized that the Harris-Walz campaign must be strategic in moving independent voters towards their ticket. Independents need a reason to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket, other than just an anti-Trump sentiment. If they fail to provide a compelling reason, these disillusioned independent voters may decide not to cast a ballot on election day.
The online poll, which surveyed 1,005 American adults both before and after the convention held last month in Chicago, Illinois, had a margin of error (“credibility interval”) of 3.5.