
The Case for Staying Optimistic About Harris
Undecided voters haven't turned on her. They just need to hear more from her. The debate is an opportunity to start closing the deal.

YESTERDAYāS NEW YORK TIMES/SIENA poll was the first major poll in a while to show Vice President Kamala Harris trailing disgraced former President Donald Trump.
This poll may have surprised some Democrats and sent them into panic. It shouldnāt have. Iāve conducted nearly a dozen focus groups with swing and persuadable voters since Harris became the nominee and in those conversations itās been clear that the fact remains that the VP has work to do with these folks. More than that, if you look at the numbers and talk to these people, itās evident that Harris has room to win them over; Trump far less so. Let me explain.
HARRIS DESERVES REAL CREDIT for the speed and alacrity with which she jumpstarted a disconsolate Democratic coalition. But ultimately this feat simply reverted the election to its mean: Fired up Dems versus fired up Republicans with a margin-making handful of low-information voters and independents who need to be convinced to make an affirmative decision for one of the two major candidates.
And those voters donāt feel like they know enough about Harris to feel comfortable voting for her. (Yet.) Hereās a sampling of thoughts from people who either voted for Trump and then Biden (flippers) or voted for Clinton and Biden, but are still undecided on Harris:
āI feel like I just donāt know enough about her, like, as a candidate. Yes, sheās our VP, but just like, kind of been on the side in my mind, right?ā āJessica, GA flipper
āFour years later, now I think about it, like, apart from her, like, laugh, I canāt say I even know her.ā āSumanth, GA flipper
āI cannot tell you one thing that I can be like, āOh yeah, she was a really good vice president.ā [...] āNot to even put any apples in Trumpās cart, but I can at least say that he did something. I mean, it wasnāt the best thing, but he did something.ā [...] āIf you think about Obamaās wife, I mean, at least she did some things. I mean, this is his wife. At least she was visible.ā [...] āItās scary to put your hope and faith in somebody who hasn't done anything.ā āMichele, GA flipper
āI'm kind of like, disappointed, because I donāt see a lot of change in what [Biden] said he was going to do versus where weāre at now.ā [...] āI have to dig deep more into Kamala Harrisās background.ā āCristal, undecided Clinton-Biden voter from CA
āI donāt think she was a very strong pick because of the fact that we really havenāt seen a whole lot about her. And in my world, whatever I have heard about her has been negative. Not that Iāve paid attention, you know, either way. I don't think thereās been ⦠sheās had the opportunity to shine at all, and sheās up against Trump, who fights dirty, nasty, disgusting, it's going to be a really hard uphill battle for her.ā āJessica, undecided Clinton-Biden voter from PA
āWe didnāt really get a say in, I guess, like us selecting her to run, and also, I mean, yeah, she worked alongside with Biden, and sheās great,ā [Note: The tepid inflection here suggested more "she's fine."] . . . āI guess I just need to, like, know more about her and whether sheās a good representation for the Democratic party.ā āAjanta, MI Flipper
āEven as a sitting vice president, like, I donāt [know]. She's just in the background right now, like sheās the backup. Sheās on the bench, essentially doing, like, a sports analogy there, like, now is her time to shine, she gets a starting role. So I gotta see what she does.ā [...] āI wish that sort of happened a lot earlier, so that we would have more time to formulate an opinion and get to know her better over the course of time, because now that windowās a lot shorter.ā āDrew, MI Flipper
āI think they said thereās a September debate with Trump, if thatās still on. I mean, that might be a really crucial point with those two together. How do they react? How do they interact?ā āDennis, PA Flipper
āIf they could, like, give me some serious policies, show me some serious plans, then I could seriously get behind it. But right now, I just feel like theyāre trying to almost manipulate me with positive energy to vote away. So Iām trying very much to not get sprinkled with the fairy dust. Iām trying to keep my eyes open, like I feel like most of my familyās like āit just feels so good.ā And I sometimes feel like Democrats can be emotional voters.ā āKimberly, GA Flipper
āI do think the debate will be important, just to see how she handles the most adversarial entity that sheāll ever encounter will be, will be a Donald Trump, and that does kind of show how sheāll handle general, you know, despots in the world, and so that will be extremely important.ā āJason, undecided Clinton-Biden voter from CA
The debate is Harrisās best opportunity to give voters like these a sense of who she is and what kind of president she will be.
Which is why she should focus on clearly articulating what her policy priorities will be and not letting Trump turn the debate into a circus.
People already know why they donāt like Trump. They need to figure out why they like Harris.
BUT HEREāS THE GOOD NEWS for Harris: The more voters see of her, the more they seem to like her. And itās always been the reverse for Trump.
Voters who have taken the time to give the VP a real look have liked what theyāve seen.
āI think sheās quick-witted, sheās funny, she has a personality.ā āAlex, WI flipper
āHearing all the talk of Biden, you need to step downāI was looking at other candidates, and I was surprised in my own mind that I didnāt immediately think Kamala Harris. I mean, I was thinking [the] governor of California, and I was thinking, just other people, but when I sat back and kind of just went over her resumĆ©, I mean, sheās very, very, very qualified,ā [...] āI do believe that she has a likability that I felt like Hillary didnāt have.ā āKim, GA flipper
āIt was her first moment being on the big stage, and how was she going to rise to the occasion? She had very little time to prepare for it as well. So, you know, is she the same person that she was four years ago? You know, Iām willing to say no, sheās not. She's grown into the position.ā āPaul, AZ Clinton-Biden undecided voter
āSheās really good in front of the camera, sheās really good, you know, at her rallies. I think, Iām not uncomfortable when she has a sense of humor. Iām not uncomfortable, you know, that she smiles a lot and, you know, sheās personable. Iāve been doing a little bit of research on her background, you know, her education and the different offices you know that sheās worked in, she has a lot of good experience. It comes through, she comes across very intelligent.ā āChristina, AZ flipper
āDuring Bidenās presidency, she has been very much in the background, so just seeing her highlighted and more vocal has been very promising.ā āChris, MN flipper
āSheās been energetic, seems very well spoken. But you know, I still go back to, what is her policies? So Iām a little hesitant.ā āDan, MN flipper
āShe's, like, has energy. Sheās willing to fight Trump,ā [...] āI think she will really call him on his crap. And so thatās good.ā āElizabeth, GA flipper
āI am looking forward to seeing what she actually wants to do with several different areas, I guess, like economic policies, tax stuff, reproductive rights. But I really am definitely leaning more towards her.ā [...] āItās nice to hear a candidate who I feel like can finish a thought through from beginning to end, and actually has a point to make.ā āOlivia, GA flipper
āShe is definitely way more energetic than Biden, that doesnāt take a lot. It was definitely a relief to have somebody that, I mean, in respect to Biden, is young, you know, and somebody that, like, can actually keep up.ā āElizabeth, GA flipper
āI like that she behaves like an adult. She doesnāt throw tantrums and scream and pout.ā [...] āI like that she is more mature and respectful in the way that she communicates. I do agree that she seems a little bit like a party head and that thereās a lot of maybe, group views that she is producing and not necessarily her own.ā āJonathan, GA flipper
āShe was kind of in the background, but I mean, vice presidents typically are,ā [...] āThey kind of stay in the background, you know, you donāt want to upstage your boss.ā [...] āI like her. There doesnāt seem to be a lot of controversy around her. Sheās not a felon. I feel like sheās, you know, sheās worked her way up, sheās earned itā¦.she doesn't seem arrogant to me or cocky, she doesnāt bully people.ā āStefanie, MI flipper
āShe spoke about her roots, she spoke about where she came from. She was middle class, which I am. I would expect her to understand our struggles more than I would expect Trump to know anything about what we go through.ā āBrenden, MI flipper
Every one of those voters should be gettable for Harrisābecause they already voted against Trump at least once. But theyāre not on board yet. Harrisās first job at the debate is to bring them home and theyāre saying very clearly what they want to hear from her.
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IāVE ALSO LISTENED to another group of people who are gettable for Harris: Trump voters who are down on Trump.
Here are some of the things they said:
āI think Kamalaās message was kind of unexpected, like her backgrounds, I wasnāt very familiar with her, like fully. So I kind of liked to learn that she comes from, like, a humble beginning, so to say.ā āSarai, NJ
āI know she is an attorney, and that she was a prosecutor, so I mean, in that respect, sheās going to have a little bit more idea of whatās right and wrong,ā [...] āIām sorry if this offends anybody, the fact that she is a woman of color and she is married to a man that is white, I think thatās going to say a lot to the American people about, you know, the non-racial crap withāthatās going on. You know, sheās obviously not racist, and thatās going to be a good thing.ā [...] āI like her. Iām not a Democrat, I donāt care about the Democrats that much. But her, I would vote for simply because of the foundation sheās got under her.ā āGreg, KS
āSheās a child of immigrants, so I think thatās going to help her understand both sides of the border issue, and I think that sheās going to be very good for that. And the fact that sheās a lawyer, and she reminds me a lot of Obama, just the way she carries herself, the way she speaks.ā āSheila, TX
This group will be a heavier lift, but theyāre very much gettable for Harris, too.
The New York Times poll that freaked everyone out is a reminder that weāre in the persuasion part of the race. The homestretch. Vice President Harris has the opportunity to introduce herself to millions of voters tomorrow and get them comfortable with who she would be as president. She shouldnāt waste time trying to ārattleā Trump. She should speak directly to the American people and make her case for herself.