Harris v. Trump CBS News poll: Ahead of debate, here's what voters are saying about the candidates

Here's how voters in the 2024 battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin view Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump ahead of their first presidential debate.

Many voters say they don't know what Harris stands for

Harris' stances are less known than Trump's. Roughly four in 10 voters in these battleground states say they don't know what Harris stands for. Some of this is driven by Republicans — most of whom say they don't know where she stands. But many independents hold this view too - a key voting group that is less firm in their candidate support, and not particularly excited about what they've seen from either of the campaigns recently. 

More voters feel like they know where third-time Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump stands, whether they agree with him or not. 

The debate is an opportunity for Harris to reintroduce herself and explain to voters how she will approach the issues they care about. 

Likability: Advantage Harris – or is it?

More voters like how Kamala Harris handles herself personally than they do Donald Trump, and most of those who like them are voting for them. 

But likability may not matter that much to some voters: A quarter of those who dislike Trump are voting for him anyway. This is not entirely new for Donald Trump. As we've seen over the years, a share of his supporters have overlooked some of Trump's behavior they don't particularly like. 

This is less the case for Harris. The percentage of voters who dislike how she handles herself personally and are still voting for her is in the low single digits. 

Who is the "change" candidate?

Harris and Trump are each trying to brand themselves as the "change candidate", but in these battlegrounds, far more voters think it's Trump who will bring "a lot" of change to the country if elected. 

Throughout his presidency, President Biden has received low marks for handling key issues. Right now, Harris' policies and views are seen as mostly - but not entirely -  the same as President Biden's,  perhaps giving Harris an opportunity to distinguish herself in some way from him.

The issues: Will the debate change the candidate's advantages and disadvantages? 

While some things have changed with Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket, some things have remained the same: Trump leads Harris — just like he did President Biden — among voters who say the economy and inflation are major factors in their vote - the top concerns for voters. We know from some of our earlier polling that when voters look back, more say the national economy under Trump was "good" than view it that way today. 

On the U.S.-Mexico border, Republicans, in particular, say it is a major factor in their vote, and Trump leads on that issue, as he long has. 

On the other hand: The issues of abortion and democracy are advantages for Harris. The abortion issue kept Democrats competitive in the 2022 midterms and it's helping boost Harris today. She leads Trump by a wide margin among those who say abortion is a major factor in their vote. 

And the state of democracy is an issue that Democrats in particular have emphasized, and here too, Harris bests Trump among those who place a great deal of importance on it. 

The debate will give the candidates a chance to persuade voters they are the person who would better handle these key issues, perhaps changing some of the perceptions voters have of the candidates as it relates to these issues.

Fred Backus contributed to this report.

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These CBS News/YouGov surveys were conducted between September 3-6, 2024. They are based on representative samples of 1,086 registered voters in Michigan, 1,085 in Pennsylvania, and 958 in Wisconsin. Margins of error for registered voters: Michigan +/- 3.7 points, Pennsylvania +/- 3.5 points, and Wisconsin +/- 4.0 points.