Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris today all but erased the gap with her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, two weeks after entering the campaign for the US presidency.

According to the RealClear Polling average, a tracker of all polls, Trump, who until before President Joe Biden’s July 21 exit from the race for re-election was up by nearly six points, now has just a 0.8 point gap over Harris.

The vice president emerged on Sunday with 50 per cent support to 49 per cent for the former president in a CBS News and YouGov poll, although the margins of error mean the two are in a dead heat.

According to the results, more Democrats and black voters said in the poll that they will «definitely vote»; however, enthusiasm needs to be maintained, especially in the key states that will define the owner of the keys to the White House this year.

Some analysts see Harris as a new generation of leaders whose origins – Indian mother, Jamaican father and Jewish husband – are opening the door to younger, progressive voters and non-whites, segments that Biden struggled with in his aborted campaign.

Among the promises he made to reach out to these groups are a focus on domestic issues such as reproductive rights, immigration, racial and gender equality, and climate change.

The vice-president’s position on Israel’s war in Gaza is also appealing to progressive groups.

Although she has reiterated her support for Israel – in line with the White House’s historic stance – Harris issued a statement on 25 July following her meeting here with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which she stressed that she will not remain silent on the suffering in Gaza.

Harris and her running mate (still an unknown) will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania tomorrow at an event at the Liacouras Center, Temple University’s stadium.

The day before, the media kept an eye on the meeting with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. One of them will complete the Democratic ticket.

Following the Philadelphia rally, Harris and her prospective vice-presidential nominee will travel later in the week to western Wisconsin, Detroit (Michigan), Raleigh (North Carolina), Savannah (Georgia), Phoenix (Arizona) and Las Vegas (Nevada).

Meanwhile, former President Trump admitted he will have to «work hard to define her (Harris)», after spending the entire campaign cycle with his attacks on Biden. Now he needs messaging to slow Harris’s momentum.