If Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president in November, she will be the first Black woman and Asian person to win the White House.
And if former President Donald Trump wins, he will be the oldest person ever elected president.
For the most part, voters have somewhat mixed views of the potential impact of these historic “firsts.”
More voters say the fact that Harris is Asian and Black will help her candidacy (41%) than hurt it (19%), though 39% expect it will not make much of a difference.
More also say Harris’ gender will be an asset (40%) rather than a liability (30%) with voters in November, while 30% say it will make little difference.
For Trump, far more think his gender and race will help him than hurt him with voters in November, but in each case about half (51%) say it will not make much difference.
Trump’s age, by contrast, is widely seen as a liability, while Harris’ age is viewed more positively. Nearly half of voters (49%) say the fact that Trump is 78 years old will hurt his candidacy, compared with just 3% who say it will help. Another 48% say it won’t make much difference.
More than four-in-ten voters (46%) say the fact that Harris is 59 will help her candidacy, while 3% say it will hurt and 51% think it will not make much of a difference.
Harris and Trump supporters on the impact of the candidates’ races and genders
Harris supporters are divided over the possible impact of the vice president’s race and gender:
- 36% say Harris being Asian and Black will help her with voters, compared with 31% who say it will hurt her.
- Somewhat more Harris supporters say the fact that Harris is a woman will hurt (42%) rather than help (34%) her.
Trump supporters are much more inclined to say Harris’ race and gender will help her candidacy:
- 46% say the fact that Harris is Asian and Black will help her with voters, and an identical share say her gender will be an asset.
- Just 8% of Trump supporters say her race and ethnicity will hurt her candidacy, while 16% say the same about her gender.
Majorities of Harris supporters say the fact that Trump is White (59%) and a man (56%) will help him in November. Most Trump supporters say the former president’s race and gender will not make much of difference (66% say this about Trump’s race, 61% say the same of his gender).
How men and women view the impact of the candidates’ genders
There are fairly modest differences between men and women voters in views of whether the candidates’ genders will help or hurt their candidacies.
On balance, both women and men voters say Trump’s gender will help him more than hurt him. Roughly half of men and women say it will make little difference.
Women are divided on whether the fact that Harris is a woman will help (38%) or hurt (33%) her with voters; 29% say it will not matter much.
Men see less of a negative impact of Harris’ gender: 41% say it will help her, 26% say it will hurt her and 32% say it won’t make much difference.
Views of the candidates’ races and ethnicities
There are differences by race and ethnicity in voters’ views of how the candidates’ own races and ethnicities will affect the election.
Black and Asian voters are divided on whether Harris’ race and ethnicity will help or hurt her with voters. Nearly as many Black voters say the fact that Harris is Black and Asian will hurt her (26%) as help her (31%). Among Asian voters, 39% say it will help while 30% think it will hurt.
More Hispanic voters think Harris’ race and ethnicity will help (36%) than hurt (21%) her. By more than two-to-one, White voters say the same (44% help, 17% hurt).
About half of Black, Hispanic and Asian voters view Trump’s race as a positive for his candidacy. A third of White voters say the same.
Views of the candidates’ ages among younger and older voters
Voters in all age groups are considerably more likely to say Trump’s age will hurt rather than help him and that Harris’ age will help rather than hurt her.
This is particularly true among the youngest group of voters:
- A 57% majority of 18- to 29-year-old voters say Harris’ age will help her.
- Among this group, just 6% say her age will hurt her in the election.
By comparison, 58% of voters under 30 say Trump’s age will hurt him and just 5% say it will help him.
Still, across all age categories, fairly substantial shares of voters say either candidate’s age will not make much of a difference come November.
