Harris campaign describes itself as ‘clear underdogs’ – Washington Examiner
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign is adopting a strategic approach by labeling itself as the “clear underdogs” ahead of the 2024 election. A memo from her campaign emphasizes the challenges faced, particularly in light of Donald Trump’s strong base and increased popularity since 2020. Campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon mentions that the upcoming debates with Trump are anticipated to be challenging, considering the narrow margins that defined previous elections. Despite Harris’s recent polling advantages in areas like the economy and abortion access, her team acknowledges Trump’s favored position and aims to campaign as if he is the frontrunner. They believe that the key to success lies in building a broad, diverse coalition capable of winning elections, positioning Harris as a strong candidate to achieve this.
Harris campaign plays the expectation game calling itself the ‘clear underdogs’ in new memo
Vice President Kamala Harris is not ready to call herself the 2024 election favorite.
A new memo from her campaign says the Harris camp remains “clear underdogs” in the final stretch of the race, which begins on Labor Day and ends on Election Day.
“Donald Trump has a motivated base of support, with more support and higher favorability than he has had at any point since 2020,” Harris campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote. “In just a few short days, Vice President Harris will face Trump on the debate stage, where we expect him to be a formidable opponent. In 2020, the election came down to about 40,000 votes across the battleground states. This November, we anticipate margins to be similarly razor-thin.”
Since replacing President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket on July 21, Harris has pulled ahead in the RealClearPolitics polling average and in the site’s swing state prediction map, which has her taking exactly 270 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 268.
Still, team Harris says Trump is the favorite — or at least that they want to campaign like he is.
“The difference maker will be which campaign has the candidate, the infrastructure, and the grit capable of expanding their support to build the type of broad, diverse coalition that wins elections,” Dillon wrote. “Every day, Vice President Harris proves she is that candidate.”
Harris’s advantage, as her team sees it, is in her polling edge when it comes to issues like the economy and abortion access, plus a lead in “democracy” and “gun violence.”
The memo then says Trump will have to “answer for” Project 2025, a 900-page policy manifesto from the Heritage Foundation think tank that has been a central focus for Harris.
“New polling shows that voters are strongly aware of Trump’s extreme Project 2025 and the more they learn, the more they oppose it,” O’Malley wrote. Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from it.
Mail-in ballots will go out in some states by the end of next week, and both campaigns are placing a lot of emphasis on the Sept. 10 presidential debate.
“This race will remain incredibly close, and the voters who will decide this election will require an extraordinary amount of work to win over,” the memo concludes. “But we have the candidate, message, and operation that brings Americans together to chart a new way forward, so we can once again defeat Donald Trump.”
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