Vice President Harris is enjoying something rare in American politics — being able to ascend to the highest ranks of power without having voters tie you down to any one particular set of beliefs or policy prescriptions, and coasting solely on base enthusiasm and a seemingly endless supply of cash. A new survey released Sunday suggests that a sizable number of Americans don’t know what she believes, allowing her to take control of the narrative at the upcoming Democratic convention in Illinois. 

The CBS News poll, conducted in concert with YouGov, finds that Ms. Harris is running even with President Trump across critical background states thanks, in part, to her support from women, minorities, and college graduates. Her ability to distance herself from a deeply unpopular President Biden probably doesn’t hurt with voters, either. 

When asked if they knew what Ms. Harris believed in, a stunning 36 percent of voters said they did not and only 64 percent said they knew what her commitments were. For Trump, 86 percent of respondents said they knew what he stands for, compared to 14 percent who claimed they did not. 

A former pollster with Global Strategy Group, Adam Carlson, says voters’ impression of Ms. Harris — or lack thereof — could be a gift to either political party before the November election. “This is why the DNC (August 19-22), the debate (September 10), and Republicans’ ability to effectively define her over the next few weeks are much more critical than they are in most elections,” Mr. Carlson wrote on X. 

The voter groups most likely to not know her positions include men, Gen Xers, self-described moderates, independents, and voters without college degrees. 

For weeks, Ms. Harris and her team have declined to participate in sit-down interviews with the press or release specific policy proposals that she would push as president. Over the course of just three weeks, after choosing her running mate in Governor Walz, Ms. Harris was able to raise nearly $300 million and close the gap with Trump despite the fact she wasn’t answering questions about her record. 

According to the poll, the election is now being fought on issues where Trump has held a sizable lead over both Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden. Voters list the economy, inflation, the southern border, crime, and the state of democracy as their top concerns this year. Of those five issues, Trump has consistently been more trusted to tackle the problems than Ms. Harris in all but one category — the issue of protecting democracy. 

According to the CBS poll, Ms. Harris leads Trump by two points in a six-way race including all well-known minor party candidates, and by three points in a head-to-head race. In the critical battleground states of Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, Ms. Harris and Trump are tied, each taking 50 percent. 

Her strong lead among core Democratic Party voters — many of whom had soured on Mr. Biden — have driven her rise, the poll suggests. She now leads Trump by 12 points among female voters, while only losing men to Trump by nine points. 

Minority voters, too, have come home after Trump spent a few weeks seeing fairly good poll numbers come out from the groups for him. Black voters now back Ms. Harris to a greater extent than they supported Mr. Biden, with 82 percent saying they’ll support her compared to 17 percent for Trump. Ms. Harris holds a 17-point lead among Hispanics, while losing white voters by only 12 points. Among voters under the age of 30, Ms. Harris has a 29-point lead.