UMass Poll Releases Findings on Upcoming Election, Public Views on 'Project 2025'

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UMass Amherst Poll has released a series of findings on how the public views the presidential candidates, their platforms, and the contentious "Project 2025." For topline results and crosstabs for all polls, please visit www.umass.edu/poll. 

On August 5th, a national poll found that Vice President Kamala Harris has opened up a three-point lead over former President Donald Trump since President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek a second term in office. The poll also queried participants on their views of how each candidate would handle major issues. "Substantially more respondents express confidence in Harris on traditional Democratic issues like reproductive rights, climate change, education, and health care," says Alexander Theodoridis, associate professor of political science and co-director of the poll. "However, the relatively small margins by which Trump edges Harris on the issues he has sought to emphasize, such as the economy, taxes, crime, immigration, and foreign policy, are cause for concern in Mar-a-Lago." 

Results released on August 7th indicated that Vice President Kamala Harris currently has a slightly higher approval rating than President Joe Biden. Those polled also expressed widespread commendation of Biden's decision not to seek a second term. "[President] Biden spent the early part of the summer making the case that he was ready and able to lead the country as president for the next four years; voters vehemently disagreed with this position as evidenced not only by his low approval numbers, but by the dominance of the negative words like 'old,' 'weak,' and 'senile to describe him," notes UMass Poll director Tatishe Nteta. "These are not the words used to describe a popular and effective leader and explains why, after weeks of contemplation, he decided to leave the race and endorse Harris."  

The August 8th release showed widespread disapproval for "Project 2025," a 900-page report outlining potential Conservative policy changes on a federal level. "Large majorities of Americans oppose the key pillars of Project 2025, such as the replacement of career government officials with political appointees (68% opposed), restricting a woman's right to contraception (72% opposed), and eliminating the Department of Education (64% opposed)," says Nteta. The poll also asked for respondents' views on immigration. While the majority of Americans are in favor of stricter immigration enforcement measures, a majority also wanted to see a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. "When it comes to immigration issues, there are huge generational differences in attitudes," says Jesse Rhodes, professor of political science and co-director of the poll. "Younger Americans are much more supportive of policies that support – and even provide a citizenship path for – undocumented immigrants, while older Americans are much more likely to support strong enforcement and punitive measures against undocumented immigrants."