JULY HARVARD CAPS / HARRIS POLL: MAJORITY OF VOTERS NOT CONFIDENT IN BIDEN'S ABILITY TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

57% OF VOTERS THINK PROSECUTORS HAVE STRONG CASE AGAINST TRUMP ON EFFORTS TO OVERTURN 2020 ELECTION

79% OF VOTERS WANT MORE REGULATIONS AROUND AI, BUT A MAJORITY WANT THE REGULATIONS TO EMERGE FROM THE INDUSTRY ITSELF RATHER THAN LAWMAKERS

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today released the results of the July Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.

As President Joe Biden rolls out "Bidenomics," his approval rating remains at 42% while 57% of voters think he is pursuing bad economic policies. The same percentage, 57%, think prosecutors have a strong case against Donald Trump on charges surrounding January 6 as Americans wait to see if he will be federally indicted again. The poll also covers public opinion on AI, the Supreme Court and crime policy. Download key results here.

"Inflation remains the elephant in the room and you can't talk Americans out of their negative feelings about the economy," said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. "On the other side, the memory and outrage of January 6 could be strong enough in Americans' minds that it becomes the first indictment to seriously damage Trump."

AMERICANS REMAIN IN A SOUR MOOD OVER THE ECONOMY

• Bidenomics faces an uphill battle: 57% think Biden is pursuing bad economic policies today and 56% think Republicans in Congress understand Americans' economic problems better than Biden.
• Inflation is hitting Americans across the political spectrum: 76% of voters say inflation has impacted them and their family's finances, with groceries as the area impacted most (chosen by 49% of voters).
• 60% of voters think the inflation rate is continuing to increase even though that is not true.
• To regain people's confidence in his ability to fix the economy, Biden must stabilize inflation, according to a plurality of voters in each party; the second-most popular choice is to cut federal spending.

 VOTERS SEE JANUARY 6 CASE AGAINST TRUMP AS STRONGER THAN PREVIOUS INDICTMENTS  

• 64% of voters, including 55% of Republicans, think Trump actively tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
• 57% of voters think federal prosecutors have a strong criminal case against Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election – although 56% believe Trump would ultimately be acquitted if indicted.
• 55% of voters, including 51% of Independents, think another federal indictment would be a reason for Trump to withdraw from the race.

LESSER KNOWN 2024 CANDIDATES IMPROVE STANDING

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has the highest favorable-unfavorable gap of all politicians surveyed (+21 points) with 47% of voters split evenly across parties seeing him favorably. Biden remains ahead by 44 points in a Democratic primary.
• Vivek Ramaswamy gains momentum on the GOP side, moving into third place in an open primary, only 2 points behind Ron DeSantis. In a primary without Trump, Ramaswamy has moved into second place, only 10 points behind DeSantis.

AI IS NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE YET

• 74% of voters, including over 70% of each party, think AI technology can be dangerous and fears of it are not overblown.
• Democrats are more optimistic than Republicans: 51% of Democrats are optimistic about AI while 59% of Republicans are fearful. 72% of Republicans compared to 52% of Democrats think AI advancements will mostly destroy rather than add jobs.
• 79% of voters want more regulations around AI, but 62% want regulations to emerge from the tech industry rather than from lawmakers.

The July Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll survey was conducted online within the United States from July 19-20, 2023, among 2,090 registered voters by HarrisX and The Harris Poll. Follow the Harvard CAPS Harris Poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms. 

About The Harris Poll & HarrisX

The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. It works with clients in three primary areas: building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. One of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., The Harris Poll has tracked public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963, and is now part of Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing.

HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that conducts multi-method research in the U.S. and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

About the Harvard Center for American Political Studies
The Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) is committed to and fosters the interdisciplinary study of U.S. politics. Governed by a group of political scientists, sociologists, historians, and economists within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, CAPS drives discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of U.S. politics. CAPS encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal mathematical modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts. More information at https://caps.gov.harvard.edu/.

CONTACT: 
Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

 

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