Polling Concerns and Interview Traps: 5 Warning Signs for Harris

29th August 2024

4 minutes read

Polling Concerns and Interview Traps: 5 Warning Signs for Harris

Despite the excitement surrounding the Democratic Party convention, Kamala Harris‘s campaign continues to portray the vice president as the “underdog” in the race.

Vice President Kamala Harris emerged from the convention with a momentum that had been growing throughout her short campaign, but with more than two months remaining until Election Day, the Democratic candidate’s victory remains far from assured.

According to “Politico”, Harris’s team promotes her candidacy as the “underdog,” while many speakers throughout the convention emphasized that the battle would remain tough.

Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist in South Carolina, said, “The current energy is good, but it must be harnessed to move forward, because energy that is not harnessed does not always translate into positive energy in politics.”

Here are 5 obstacles that Harris‘s campaign must overcome as the election race gets serious, according to the newspaper.

Tight Polls in Swing States

Harris has gained a small lead in recent weeks’ polls, putting her ahead of former President Donald Trump nationally and in most swing states.

However, strategists remain cautious about whether she can maintain this trajectory.

A poll conducted by the Democratic-affiliated research firm “Navigator” and released last Tuesday, before the vice president’s speech at the party convention, showed that Harris and Trump are essentially tied in the map of swing states.

The founder of “Future Forward,” a major pro-Harris PAC, stated earlier last week that the group’s internal poll was “much less optimistic than what is publicly seen.”

Moreover, polls did not predict Trump’s performance in the 2016 and 2020 elections, which led several major Democratic polling firms to join forces after the recent elections to avoid past mistakes.

Veteran Democratic strategist Doug Herman noted that “no one really knows what to believe, except that Trump’s numbers might be lower than expected.”

Interviews

Despite promising earlier this month to “schedule” an interview before the end of August, there are still no public plans for Harris’s first television interview as a Democratic candidate.

The longer the wait for the interview, the greater the pressure on her to conduct her first interview or press conference.

In contrast, Trump, who has hosted numerous press conferences and live interviews with journalists in recent weeks, criticizes Harris for this, calling her “barely qualified” for conducting interviews.

A veteran Democratic strategist described Harris’s television interviews as one of her major challenges.

The vice president faced harsh criticism in her interview with Lester Holt from NBC News in 2021 when she stumbled in responses about why she had not visited the U.S.-Mexico border.

The strategist, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, told the newspaper, “Harris has always struggled with interviews and has a contentious streak. She swings between argument and the power of words.”

Debate Controversy

The presidential debate with Trump, a white man nearly 20 years her senior with a history of difficult outbursts, is an excellent opportunity for Harris to show the difference between herself and the former president and to reintroduce herself to the national audience.

So far, the two are scheduled to debate on ABC News on September 10. However, on Sunday, Trump criticized the network for a “biased interview” on Truth Social.

Trump questioned, “Why should I debate on ABC?” Harris’s campaign mocked this clear hesitation, adding emojis and sounds to social media posts to poke fun at the billionaire’s statements.

The two campaigns are also struggling to reach a consensus on whether the candidates’ microphones should be muted while the other is speaking, according to Politico.

While Harris’s campaign bets that an open microphone will benefit her, Trump’s team is pushing to stick to the rules agreed upon with President Joe Biden’s campaign.

Where is the Policy?

Harris’s campaign has yet to address specific policies on several issues, making it difficult for her to maneuver against Republican attacks that claim she is too progressive and volatile.

Her campaign website contains no political language, and although she has discussed her economic and foreign policy agendas during campaign events and in her speech at the Democratic National Convention, details on these policies are scarce.

However, Doug Herman noted that Harris “has a million more important things to do” than to lay out detailed policies after being thrust into the presidential race on a difficult and unprecedented timeline.

He added, “Kamala Harris needs to crystallize her political positions as part of the campaign to gain a broad mandate to govern if elected.”

It is still unclear how Harris plans to distance herself from aspects unlikely to support her electoral base, such as the disastrous U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, and from more progressive policies she has supported in the past.

Trump’s Support Among White Men

Harris is trying to rebuild the broad Democratic coalition, having achieved successes with nearly all demographic groups compared to Biden before his withdrawal, especially among young voters, women voters, Black voters, and independents.

However, Trump continues to lead in polls among white voters, both nationally and in key states.

Herman says, “Some might argue that increasing turnout among other sub-groups of voters is more beneficial for Harris’s campaign, and it’s hard to argue with that.”