Americans see Kamala Harris' history-making moment as a good thing

Kamala Harris will be the first woman and person of color to serve as vice president and, by a more than three-to-one margin, Americans feel that's a good thing. When Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate last August, most Democrats were enthusiastic that she had been chosen.

And today, majorities of Democrats, ranging from very liberal to moderate, feel having Harris as the first woman and person of color as vice president is a positive development. Black Americans also especially feel this is a good thing, including 78% of Black women.

Republicans, most of whom did not support the Biden-Harris ticket, feel less positive than Democrats and independents about Harris as the first woman and person of color to be elected vice president.

These partisan splits also extend to opinions within gender and race.

More women than men think Harris making history in this regard is a good thing, but it's mostly Democratic women (joined by nearly half of independents), who feel that way. Most Republican women say this doesn't matter that much to them, and among those who do weigh in, more say it is a bad thing than a good thing.

Most non-White Americans say it's a good thing that the next vice president will be a woman and person of color. Opinions among White Americans are more mixed and also marked by partisan divisions. Eighty-five percent of White Democrats say this milestone is a good thing, a figure that drops to 12% among White Republicans, of whom most (59%) say this doesn't matter.

When the poll asked more generally if the nation's changing diversity was a good thing, more Americans — especially most Democrats — said that it was. And we see a connection between those who see Harris' groundbreaking as a good thing and those who see diversity as a good thing for the country, too.

There is more division regarding the country's changing racial diversity among Republicans. Just over half of them say the changing diversity is neither good nor bad, while the remaining half are split between those who think it's a good thing and those who feel it's a bad thing.

This CBS News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 2,166 U.S. residents interviewed between January 13-16, 2021. This sample was weighted according to gender, age, race and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as the 2020 presidential vote and registration status. The margin of error is ±2.5 points.

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