Six weeks ago, it was inconceivable that Vice President Kamala Harris would be in the driver’s seat of this year’s US presidential election.
Author
Lester Munson
Non-Resident Fellow, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
Harris was the afterthought running mate of President Joe Biden, an historically unpopular incumbent. Donald Trump, having survived an assassination attempt by millimetres, had a in a presidential race for the first time in his political career.
Republicans were also coming off a that gave a strong message of party unity and enthusiasm for Trump’s third consecutive run for the top office. Even the vice-presidential selection of Senator JD Vance, a recent convert to Trump’s nationalist project, was seen as evidence of the former president’s strength.
Yet this week, on the cusp of early voting, Harris leads Trump by nearly two percentage points in the national polling average and by 3.2 points in the polling roundup.
Democrats, evidently ecstatic over Biden’s departure from the race, have embraced Harris’ relative youthfulness and vitality. Although she has a strong progressive track record, Harris’ popularity has soared as she has embraced moderate positions on energy, immigration and key foreign policy issues. Her vibe appears to be superhuman.
Does this mean Harris will run away with the presidency? Or can Trump get back in this race?
Flailing at the worst time
Since Harris’ ascendancy to the nomination (perhaps the fastest in modern American politics), Trump’s campaign has been flailing.
He her racial identity before a group of Black journalists, a rhetorical manoeuvre that predictably landed with a thud. He has spent a couple of weeks , enraging his pro‑life supporters.
Most recently, his maladroit campaign to Arlington ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Cemetery honouring service members killed during the US pullout from Afghanistan into a complete disaster. Harris and the media are slamming Trump for politicising the hallowed resting place of national heroes and even bullying the cemetery’s staff.
It may seem hopeless for the Republicans. The race, however, is not what it appears.
In fact, the candidates remain quite close in the . The three “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, in particular, are vital to Harris’ chances. Harris knows this and is even with Biden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his blue‑collar, working‑class appeal is greatest.
Each campaign is spending on ads in Pennsylvania alone. They know that turning out their voters in that state could be the key to overall victory.
Loathe to lean into his advantage
Trump also has a latent advantage that may prove helpful in the end. On several key issues, he is still Harris: the economy, inflation and immigration.
With Harris winning the vibes contest, Trump needs to break through with voters on these public policy matters. Trump will have the opportunity to do just that in the first presidential debate on September 10.
To reframe the race in his favour, he will have to show that Harris has herself on immigration and energy policy. In her only media interview since becoming the Democrats’ presidential nominee, for instance, Harris said she on fracking, which she had backed in 2019.
But can Trump manage this? So far, he has not demonstrated the discipline required to make this a race on policy. He appears to be more interested in competing on the vibes front, discussing (Harris or himself) and who is attracting the biggest crowds to their speeches.
Trump’s top campaign advisers this year, and Chris LaCavita, are a more accomplished and disciplined team than he has ever had. Through the Republican convention in July, the pair had successfully manoeuvred Trump, who had been deeply damaged by the January 6 insurrection, to a leading position against Biden. They orchestrated a near‑sweep of talented Republican challengers in the primaries and kept Trump’s focus on the issues that mattered to voters.
Rather than leaning into their advice, however, Trump appears to from his campaign managers’ steady hands. In recent weeks, he has also brought back , who ran Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, sparking rumours of a campaign shake‑up.
Perhaps Trump’s near-death experience at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July has made him want to do things “his way”. Perhaps he is tired of being managed. Perhaps he is alarmed by Harris’ gravity-defying rise in the polls.
In any case, he needs to return to a focus on the policy issues where he connects most with voters to get back on top of this race.
If he doesn’t, he’ll lose his second presidential campaign in a row.
