Democrats driving increased election enthusiasm: Gallup

Enthusiasm around voting has risen in recent weeks, with Democrats driving the surge , according to a survey published Thursday.

The Gallup poll shows 78 percent of Democrats or those who lean Democratic said they feel “more enthusiastic than usual about voting” compared to past elections. On the other side, 64 percent of Republicans or those who lean Republican said the same about the election, now just 68 days away.

A similar survey in March found 55 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans felt excited to vote in November, the pollster noted.

Just less than 80 percent of survey respondents said they were giving the election “quite a lot” of thought, surpassing the previous August record of 74 percent in 2008.

“Given that more Americans typically pay attention to the election closer to Election Day than do in August, 2024 is poised to establish a new high in election thought at the conclusion of the campaign,” pollsters wrote. “Currently, the 84% from 2004 is the highest Gallup has measured immediately before Election Day.”

Some of that energy on the left can be attributed to Vice President Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic ticket over the past month, after President Biden left the race . Many Democrats see Harris as having a better chance to defeat former President Trump than Biden did.

The vice president has also been gaining in recent polls, with her opening up a 4.3 percentage point lead over Trump in an average of national polls from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, garnering 49.5 percent support to his 45.2 percent.

Overall, 69 percent of Americans said they feel more enthusiastic than usual about voting in 2024 versus past elections. Only 23 percent said they feel “less enthusiastic.”

Harris and Trump are set to go head-to-head in an ABC News debate on Sept. 10. However, Trump has recently raised questions about whether he will participate in the debate, but said he had “reached an agreement” on the details Tuesday.

The Gallup survey was conducted Aug. 1-20, mostly before the Democratic National Convention, among 1,015 people. The margin of error was 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

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