Top pollster claims Kamala Harris’ honeymoon period is ‘officially over’ and points to poll that proves it

Vice President Kamala Harris may be coming down to earth after a poll boost leading up to her convention, with voter ‘enthusiasm’ dropping in a new poll.

Pollster Frank Luntz, who specializes in interviews with undecided voters, pointed to the stat in an online post, in a race that is settling into a dead-heat.   

‘Quite a sharp drop in Democratic voter enthusiasm in this month’s YouGov poll. (It was 70% last month.) The honeymoon period is officially over,’ Luntz declared in a post on X. 

He was referencing a non-partisan online poll that had Democratic enthusiasm peaking during the hype of the Democratic National Convention last month. That came after the stunning decision by President Joe Biden to step back, yielding to widespread polling that showed frustration with his candidacy and concerns about his age.

It showed a steady increase in enthusiasm once Harris became the likely nominee. 

In the latest early September survey, Republicans have taken a slight lead on enthusiasm, with 60 percent saying they are ‘very enthusiastic’ or ‘extremely enthusiastic.’

For Democrats, the number is 59 percent. 

In late June, a USA Today / Suffolk University poll had Trump supporters twice as enthusiastic as Biden supporters, with 50 percent saying they were ‘very excited’ as compared to 30 percent for Biden. 

That poll had Trump supporters at the same 60 percent, with Harris at 68 percent – more than doubling Biden’s. 

The drop coincides with the end of the DNC, when Harris was getting a boost of TV publicity and delivered a well-received speech.  

Nevertheless, there are other signs that Harris’ convention ‘bounce’ may have cooled. A new batch of CNN swing state polls showed a tie in Pennsylvania and holding a one point lead in Georgia, while trailing Trump by 5 in Arizona. 

She leads Trump by 47 to 45 in the latest Economist / YouGov poll. Some polling models had her garnering a ‘bounce’ slightly lower than what was expected. Harris enjoyed an unusual boost of publicity in the days leading up to the convention after stepping in for Biden, which may have accounted for some of her ‘bounce’ in advance.

The latest election forecast from Nate Silver’s model has Trump’s chances of prevailing in the Electoral College improved from the end of July.