Democratic strategists are frustrated that Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic messaging “hasn’t broken through” to voters, noting that many are still “wondering about her vision,” the Hill reported.
“Her economic message hasn’t broken through,” a major Democratic donor said. “And the economy is the issue most people care about. She narrowed the gap a little on the issue, but she’s left a lot of people wondering about her vision.”
Harris has struggled to connect with voters on economic issues since she replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket in July. With just a week until the election, voters continue to trust Trump’s approach to the economy over Harris’s, 46 percent to 38 percent, according to a Reuters poll released last week. In battleground states, 61 percent of voters say the economy is on the “wrong track” under the Biden-Harris administration.
Democratic strategist Steve Jarding said Harris has not “done a good enough job” countering Trump’s criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record.
“Where I don’t think she’s done a good enough job is, [Trump] gets away with saying, ‘The economy is the worst it’s ever been, there’s more unemployment, inflation is the highest it’s ever been.’ None of that is true,” Jarding said.
Another Democratic strategist agreed that Harris’s economic messaging “left a lot to be desired.”
“I still think there are folks out there who can’t tell you what she plans to do,” the strategist said. “That should have been something our side hammered home every day.”
Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under the Bill Clinton administration, on Monday urged Harris to “respond forcefully to the one issue that continues to be highest on the minds of most Americans: the economy.”
“When all of [the polls] show the same thing—that Kamala Harris’s campaign stalled several weeks ago yet Trump’s continues to surge—it’s important to take the polls seriously,” Reich added.
The Harris campaign recently signaled that it would focus more on economic messaging in the final days before the election.
“[Harris] has to start talking more to the needs of working-class people,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.). “I wish this had taken place two months ago. It is what it is.”
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