How Biased Media Outlets Report Vice President Kamala Harris' Polling Differently

In the wake of President Joe Biden exiting the presidential race on Sunday, July 21st, there were many allegations of bias regarding how media outlets covered Vice President Kamala Harris’ polling.

Some left-rated media outlets have reported that recent surveys showed Harris faring slightly better than Biden, and even on-par with former President Donald J. Trump in some polls. ABC News (Lean Left bias), for example, reported, “While Harris consistently polled worse than Biden did against Trump before the debate, since then she’s sometimes polled ahead of Biden.” However, some sources on the right have argued that no recent polls have shown Harris faring better than Trump with voters, and describe her chances as on-par or even slightly less than Biden’s. 

To better understand how news media are covering the Harris poll reports, AllSides conducted an analysis of outlets across the political spectrum. Here is what we found:

On the Left

Many sources on the left framed Harris’ polling numbers as more favorable than Biden’s. Only some explained the context of hypothetical polling; since Harris is not yet the Democratic nominee, all reported polls pitting Harris against Trump presented voters with the hypothetical scenario of Harris becoming the nominee, including those conducted in the days since Biden dropped out. Hypothetical polling can skew conceptions of the presidential race because in the following months, American voters may interpret these polls recorded prior to Harris’ official nomination as applicable statistics. According to the Conversation (Lean Left bias), “...name recognition of Biden explains his often better numbers than Harris.”

Left sources seemed more likely to mention recent polls showing Harris performing better than Biden. For example, a Vox (Left bias) explainer stated that “Coconut-pilled backers of a Kamala Harris presidential campaign argue that Harris runs about even or even better than Biden does against former President Donald Trump in polling,” citing 538, ABC News’ statistical analysis department, but failing to link a specific poll. 

Vox also discusses “critics of the KHive,” who argue that “Harris is still really unpopular with the American public.” Vox adds: “They argue that the polls don’t actually show that much of an advantage for Harris in battleground states or with the popular vote.”

A New York Times (Lean Left bias) news article published Sunday states, “Recent polls have shown her [Harris] competitive with and even slightly ahead of Mr. Trump,” yet this claim is unsupported by their own polling, which shows Harris trailing Trump by two percentage points, certainly competitive with but decidedly not ahead of Trump. The New York Times could be referring to a general Harris approval poll conducted by SoCal Research which reported Harris ahead of Trump by 11 percentage points, but this statistic seems irrelevant as it just accounts for voters based in New York, a notoriously blue state.

In the Center

Many center-rated sources reinforced that it is simply too soon to analyze Harris’ presidential polling numbers. According to BBC News (Center bias), “Ms Harris trails the former president slightly - a roughly similar position to the one Mr Biden found himself in before his historic announcement. But there may be more room for those numbers to shift as we move from a hypothetical matchup to a very real one.” 

Forbes (Center bias) cited a CBS News (Lean Left bias) poll conducted last week which “showed Trump leading Harris by three points and Biden by five,” but acknowledged Harris’ numbers have shifted since Biden’s exit. Forbes also explained that Biden’s immediate endorsement of Harris may result in a short-term “bump in polls for Harris in the coming weeks as her entrance into the race is expected to re-energize Democrats,” an anticipated boost that many sources on the left did not mention.

On the Right

Sources on the right focused on polling that shows Harris trailing behind Trump. For example, Fox News (Right bias) claims that “Harris falls about two percentage points behind Trump in recent polls,” citing the New York Times (Lean Left bias). 

A National Review (Right bias) election analysis says “Republicans shouldn’t write off Kamala Harris’s chances” based on potential middling polling numbers, as “None of the polls, which have shown Harris doing marginally better than Biden on average but still trailing Donald Trump, are very predictive at this point.” Similar to some center-biased coverage, the National Review reinforced that current presidential polls are uncertain because, until now, Harris has been considered a hypothetical candidate. The highlighting of these polls in the media can lead to confusion among American voters about the status of Harris as a presidential candidate; there are many factors, such as the possibility of an open Democratic National Convention, that will influence Harris’s performance in the polls. By reinforcing current polls between Trump and Harris, the media inadvertently labels Harris as the Democratic candidate.

Different polls can tell conflicting stories, just as media outlets often do. Be sure to take a look at multiple polls to get the full picture of how an election outcome might unfold. 

Written by Content Intern Kacie Moschella (Lean Left bias) and Content Intern Stella Kozielec (Center bias)

Reviewed and edited by Olivia Geno, News and Bias Assistant (Lean Right bias) and Joseph Ratliff, AllSides Content Designer and News Editor (Lean Left bias)