Trump vs. Harris: What Do Voters Think About Their Policies?

With the Republican and Democratic conventions now in the rearview mirror, the majority of Trump and Harris’ policies have been presented to the public. The latest Economist/YouGov poll surveyed voters about whether they liked the policies and how they might affect the 2024 election.

The poll, conducted from Aug. 25-27 with 1,368 registered voters, found that the most supported policy has been adopted by both Trump and Harris: ending the tax on tips for service workers. The policy, which enjoys 70% support with only 14% opposed, was first supported by Trump in June, and Harris announced her support for the same policy earlier this month.

The most popular policy supported only by one candidate was “capping out-of-pocket annual expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000.” This policy will apply to Medicare beneficiaries in 2025 under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and Harris says she wants to expand the cap to all private healthcare plans as well. According to the poll, the policy enjoys 69% support.

Harris’ other economic policies, including “providing a $6,000 child tax credit for families with children under one year of age” and “capping increases on food and grocery prices,” also had above 60% support. Even among Republicans, the cap on food price increases had 48% support, with only 42% opposed, despite Trump critiquing the policy as “Soviet-style price controls.”

Trump’s most popular policy in the poll was “arresting and deporting thousands of illegal immigrants,” which had 53% support and 35% opposition. It garnered 22% support among Democrats and enjoyed net positive support among independents, with 54% in favor and 29% opposed.

On economic policies, Trump also had net positive support, including “easing regulation to allow for more drilling on federal land” and “imposing a 10% tariff on goods imported to the U.S. from other countries.” The tariff had 42% support, with 31% opposed, and easing drilling regulations had 46% support with 33% opposed.

On education, support for potential Trump policies was mixed. One conservative policy, “banning the teaching of critical race theory in public schools,” had positive support, with 44% in favor and 37% opposed. However, another policy Trump voiced support for in a recent interview with Elon Musk, “abolishing the U.S. Department of Education” and moving education policy back to the states, was the only policy listed with negative approval. Only 25% supported the policy, while 55% opposed it.

One potential challenge for Harris is that respondents reported having a less clear understanding of what she would do if elected president. Only 51% said they had a “very clear” or “somewhat clear” understanding of the policies she would enact as president, compared to 67% who said the same of Trump. Among independents, only 37% said they had a somewhat or very clear understanding of Harris’ policies, while 43% said they had a “not very clear” or “not clear at all” idea of what she would do. In contrast, 61% of independents said they had a very or somewhat clear understanding of what policies Trump would enact.

Despite some uncertainty about Harris’ potential policies, her slight edge in favorability on policy likely contributed to her narrow lead in the poll, where she led Trump 47%-45% in the multi-way race. This lead is particularly significant as it’s only the second poll released that examined the multi-way race since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out, with Harris maintaining her lead.