Harris campaign strategy questioned as election approaches

Sponsored Ad

As the election nears, concerns have arisen regarding the strategy of Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. Initially, her strategy focused on highlighting former President Donald Trump’s flaws while downplaying controversial positions she previously held, such as banning fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings. These positions were not popular among a majority of general election voters, but the campaign has tried to shift the focus to Harris as a candidate of change.

Since the withdrawal of President Joe Biden in July, Harris’s team has leaned on positive media coverage and limited interviews to avoid discussing these contentious issues. For example, during her only interview in August with CNN’s Dana Bash, Harris was asked about her changes on issues but responded that her values remained the same, without directly addressing the question.

This cautious approach has yielded mixed results. Harris is currently polling ahead of Trump by a narrow margin nationwide and remains competitive in key states. Poll analyst Nate Silver’s model gives her a 53% chance of winning the Electoral College. However, this is significantly lower than Hillary Clinton’s 71% chance in 2016, raising concerns among some Democratic strategists.

Republicans are capitalizing on Harris’s previous liberal positions, running TV ads to highlight her past support for policies such as government-paid gender transition surgeries for inmates. Some analysts believe that Harris’s campaign may need to address these issues more directly to reassure voters in the final weeks before the election.

With the election only weeks away, it remains to be seen whether the Harris campaign will adjust its strategy or continue to rely on the current approach.