CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Tuesday argued that Kamala Harris is losing steam with Democrats as the former veep continues to spill on her 2024 campaign while promoting her new book “107 Days.” (Watch his analysis below.)
“I would just say that if you want a messenger to go against Donald Trump, you could do far better as Democrats than Kamala Harris,” said Enten in a segment with CNN’s Sara Sidner.
Enten pointed to the former vice president’s net favorable rating (percent of those in favor minus percent not of those not in favor), which has dropped from -5 in October 2024 to -13 this month, according to Fox News polling.
Among independents, that figure is at -37, per the poll.
“If you can’t win independents, you can’t win the election,” Enten said.
“And the bottom line is, with those in the center of the electorate, those who are the most up for grabs, she is way, way, way underwater. She is definitely swimming with the fishes.”
Enten turned to early polling on potential 2028 Democratic presidential nominees that shows Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have put Harris — who told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday that a 2028 run isn’t her “focus” at the moment — on the “back burner” in recent months.
Back in April, 28% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents indicated that Harris was their top choice to be the party’s nominee in 2028. That figure has since dropped to 19%.
The same demographic, meanwhile, has increasingly indicated that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is their top choice to be the party’s 2028 nominee, rising from 8% in April to 21% this month.
Enten was later asked how Californians are feeling about a potential 2028 presidential campaign by Harris, who has decided not to run for governor in the state next year.
He noted that while Harris had a 58% share of California’s vote in the 2024 election, 42% of voters in the state said they’d be “excited” if she ran for president again, according to a Politico poll from August.