The frontrunners in this year's presidential election — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump — have different backgrounds and resumes. Harris is a 59-year-old mixed-race vice president — before that a U.S. Senator and prosecutor from California — who has focused her nascent campaign around trying to unite Americans with an optimistic message about the future. Trump is a 78-year-old white former president and businessman from New York who sells himself as a strong leader willing to do what it takes to return the country to what he depicts as the greatness of its past.
Do either of them have what Americans are looking for in a president? In a recent survey, we asked about the importance of 40 qualities in a president, ranging from their demographic characteristics to their personality, skills, and professional experiences. Each respondent rated a random sample of 20 of the 40 qualities. These results only reflect what Americans say is important to them — and not necessarily what they will decide their vote.
The traits that top the list — with at least 80% of Americans saying each one is very important in a president — are among the most intangible of those asked about: a president's leadership skills, decision-making abilities, honesty, mental health, future vision, integrity, intelligence, ability to stay calm under pressure, and respect for the rule of law. All of these rank more highly than other more concrete metrics, including a president's ability to work with Congress, their staff selection skills, and their positions on social and economic policies. Level of experience and educational attainment are rated as even less important.
The characteristics Americans consider to be least important are primarily demographic, including a president's wealth, race, marital status, gender, and parenthood status. Very few Americans consider physical attractiveness to be important, as well. Age is considered slightly more important than these, as are sexual orientation and religion.
Democrats and Republicans share similar views on the importance of most — but not all — presidential traits. There is one quality that has a major partisan gap in how important it is considered for a president: their criminal record. 79% of Democrats but just 25% of Republicans say it is very important, a 55-percentage-point difference. Democrats also are more likely than Republicans to say a president's empathy (+24), positions on social issues (+22), and educational attainment (+16) are very important. Republicans, on the other hand, are likelier than Democrats to place a lot of emphasis on a president's sexual orientation (+21), religion (+15), religiosity (+12), and physical health (+12).
Most Americans say they have no preferences about the details of a president's gender and relationships. Among the small shares who do have a preference, there generally is a clear lean, though. For example, 25% say they prefer a man as president, while 11% say they prefer a woman. By 27% to 2%, Americans prefer a married president to an unmarried one. By 29% to 1%, they prefer a president with children over one without any, and by 27% to 2% a president with pets over one without any.
Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to have preferences when it comes to a president's gender, marital status, and parenthood status: 50% of Republicans say they prefer a man as president, 44% a married president, and 42% prefer a president who is a parent.
Most Americans do have preferences when it comes to a president's age, with the largest share (43%) saying they'd prefer a president between the ages of 50 and 64. 17% say they'd want someone younger than 50, while just 8% want someone 65 or older. (President Joe Biden is 81.) Democrats are especially keen on a younger candidate, while Republicans are more likely to say they don't have a preference. Just 2% of Republicans say they want a president older than 75 — a category that Trump falls into — though 40% have no preference.
Related:
- After Biden's exit: Far more Democrats say they're optimistic, and most back Harris
- Harris vs. Trump: How Americans evaluate them on personality and policy
- How views of Biden and Trump changed after the first debate
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: The poll was conducted online among 2,266 U.S. adult citizens on two separate surveys from July 25 - 27, 2024 and July 26 - 29, 2024. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3%.
Image: Getty
