Poll: Nearly 30% of Democrats would choose Harris for 2028

Democrats continue to favor former Vice President Kamala Harris over 12 other candidates if the 2028 Democratic presidential primary were held today, according to The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll.

The Center Square has conducted four 2028 presidential primary polls since October, and Harris has retained about 30% of her party’s support each time, though the October poll was her best. In the fall of 2025, 33% of registered Democrat and left-leaning Independent respondents indicated they would choose Harris from a list of eight prominent Democratic politicians. By March, when The Center Square added five more party leaders to the list, her support dipped to 31%. In June and August, she remained the Democratic favorite among 27% and 28% of respondents, respectively. She does appear to fare better among Democrats than left-leaning Independents, at 30% and 20% in August.

The most notable change among the other potential contenders is that support for the second-most-popular candidate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, fell substantially with the addition of more options in March – from 21% to 16% – and he has plateaued in recent months at 14%. Meanwhile, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who initially polled at 7%, climbed to 11% in June and then 12% in the August poll.

While Harris polled best in almost every major demographic group surveyed, she was most popular among the youngest voters and Black voters. Forty-seven percent of registered voters ages 18-29 preferred Harris to other prominent Democrats, and no one came close to her 49% among Black voters. Newsom came in a distant second among Black voters at10%.

Each polled racial demographic besides whites strongly favored Harris. She captured 30% of Hispanic and Latino respondents and 37% of respondents who identified as a race other than white, Black, Hispanic or Latino. She was still the most popular candidate among white voters at 18%, but Buttigieg was right behind at 17%, followed by Newsom at 16%.

Harris also fared slightly better among women than men, and was better among respondents with less formal education. She led among urban, suburban and rural voters, posting her strongest numbers among urban voters, and led across all four regions of the U.S., with her best showing in the South.

While Harris held a commanding lead over Newsom and Buttigieg among female voters, her advantage narrowed among men, where Newsom came within 10 points of her.

Newsom and Buttigieg also gained support among older demographics. Buttigieg was the favorite among senior voters. Buttigieg nabbed 20% support of the 65-and-older bracket; Newsom, 19% and Harris, 13%.

Buttigieg also bested Harris among respondents with post-graduate degrees, with 18% support to Harris' 15%.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been included in the poll since March and while she generally came in after Newsom and Buttigieg, she was the second-most-popular choice among the 18-29 demographic with 13% support. She was also the second choice among Hispanic and Latino voters, with 17%. She polled better than Newsom with Independents (10% to his 9%) and better than Buttigeig in the Western region of the U.S. (11% to his 9%).

The Voters Voice Poll, conducted Aug. 12-16, surveyed 2,533 registered voters via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The respondents were comprised of 930 Republicans, 930 Democrats and 673 Independents. Among independent voters, 330 respondents were classified as true independents, which are individuals who do not lean toward either major party when given the choice. The margin of error is +/- 2.0%.