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A poll conducted during the first week of August for the Media Research Center (MRC) by McLaughlin & Associates found that between 71% and 86% of registered Democrats and Independents who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 appear to be mostly in the dark about Kamala Harris’ most controversial views on key issues.
The survey, published August 14 at MRC’s NewsBusters site, asked 1,200 voters (800 registered Democrats and 400 Independents who reported voting for Biden) about ten of Harris’ stated positions that are on the public record. Those positions include her sponsorship of the Green New Deal, her view that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished, and her advocacy for the elimination of private health insurance.
MRC explained the results in a video.
Ten specific issues involving Harris were presented to survey participants, yielding the following results:
- On Harris saying she would consider allowing death row inmates to vote, only 14% of Democrats and Independents who had voted for Biden said they were aware of that stance, while 86% said they were unaware.
- Regarding Harris’ support for the elimination of private health insurance with her advocacy for “Medicare for All,” 19% said they were aware, while 82% said they were not.
- On Harris’ promotion of a fund to bail out protesters during the violent riots of 2020, 22% said they were aware, while 78% said they were not.
- Regarding Harris’ support for abolishing ICE, 23% said they were aware, while 77% said they were not.
- On Harris being rated the most liberal U.S. senator in 2019, 25% said they were aware, while 75% said they were not.
- Regarding Harris’ statement that entering the U.S. illegally should not be considered a crime, 26% said they were aware of her view, while 74% said they were not.
- On Harris’ co-sponsorship of the Green New Deal, 27% said they were aware, while 73% said they were unaware.
- On Harris’ never visiting any conflict zones at the border after President Joe Biden appointed her “Border Czar,” 28% said they were aware, while 72% said they were not.
- Regarding Harris’ support for cutting police funding, 29% said they were aware, while 71% said they were not.
- On Harris’ support for reparation payments to atone for slavery in the U.S., 29% said they were aware of her advocacy, while 71% said they were not.
Voters were also asked about where they obtained their information about the elections and the candidates.
Results found 50.2% said broadcast television (ABC, CBS, and NBC) was their main source of news, while 41.2% identified cable news, including CNN and MSNBC; 34.4% named social media; 23.9% listed online news sites, and 16.7% said search engines.
MRC observed that its examination of ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news coverage since Harris became the leading Democratic presidential candidate showed “eight of these ten issues received ZERO attention from these newscasts, while two others received only minor coverage.”
In his report on the poll, Rich Noyes, contributing editor for the NewsBusters blog, wrote:
If our poll had been conducted even as recently as June, voters’ lack of knowledge about Harris might be understandable. But this poll was conducted in August, when the Vice President was receiving the most intense news coverage of her political career. Our study found heavy coverage of Harris on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts during this period: 184 minutes in just 21 days, eclipsing even that of Donald Trump.
“Yet our survey of Democratic voters and pro-Biden Independents, who say their top source for news about the campaign are these same networks, shows the damage caused by today’s one-sided news coverage,” Noyes added. “The fact that huge majorities don’t even know about these issues is damning evidence of the media’s selective and partisan approach to covering the 2024 presidential campaign.”
