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Date: October 07, 2024 at 10:50:19
From: old timer, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What Polls S |
URL: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What Polls Show |
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Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What Polls
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Published Oct 07, 2024 at 6:00 AM EDT
Updated Oct 07, 2024 at 12:00 PM EDT
By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
The 2024 election cycle is in its final days and, once again, America is
weeks away from possibly electing the nation's first female president—but
how is Vice President Kamala Harris faring as a candidate for the
Democrats?
Eight years ago, the party put up its first female presidential candidate
with the nomination of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Like
Clinton, Harris is also running against former President Donald Trump,
who has now been the Republican nominee in the last three presidential
elections.
Polls suggest that Harris is struggling to break through with voters.
Although she is still leading Trump within the margins of error of most
surveys, Harris' edge is also smaller than the advantages that both
Clinton and Joe Biden had over Trump at this point in the 2016 and 2020
races.
"Harris has yet to effectively introduce herself to many voters," political
pundit Steve Schier told Newsweek. "Her initial rollout was accompanied
by many positive media messages, but the impression generated by that
was in need of further development."
The polling figures may be a warning sign for Harris' campaign since the
vice president isn't encumbered by the same challenges that Clinton
faced back in 2016. Two presidential election cycles ago, voters saw the
former secretary of state as exemplifying the establishment, telling
pollsters that they perceived her as dishonest and untrustworthy. She was
running against Trump, a political newcomer at the time, while embattled
in an email controversy that she would later say cost her the election.
Harris, on the other hand, doesn't have major political liabilities. Many
voters see her as symbolizing change, her favorability shot up after Biden
stepped aside and endorsed her as the Democratic nominee, and she isn't
facing any significant personal controversy. Plus, Trump is no longer the
political outsider he was in 2016. Still, Harris is struggling to pull away in
the polls.
With 31 days left until Election Day, Harris is up 2.6 percentage points,
according to FiveThirtyEight's national polls tracker. In 2016, a month
before the election, pollsters had Clinton up 5.1 points over Trump. At the
same point in the 2020 cycle, Biden was up 7.6 points over Trump.
RealClearPolling has Harris up 2.2 points over Trump as of Friday, putting
her significantly behind the Democrats that came before. At the same
point in previous election cycles, Clinton was leading by 4.7 points and
Biden was leading by 7.4 points, according to RealClearPolling. The
margins of error for most polls varies between +/- 2 to 4 percentage
points.
'Granting Few Interviews Has Not Helped Her'
Harris quickly hit the campaign trail but has largely avoided interactions
with the press. It wasn't until nearly six weeks into her campaign that she
sat for her first in-depth interview with CNN, which was also a joint
interview with her running mate Governor Tim Walz. It wouldn't be until
eight weeks in that she would give her first solo interview.
Schier said although Harris performed adequately at what will likely be
the only debate between her and Trump, she "did not create a deep
enough impression to resolve doubts and uncertainties about her."
A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted two days before the
September 10 debate found that 28 percent of voters still say they need
to learn more about her, compared to only 9 percent who said the same
about Trump. That share of voters was nearly identical after the debate,
suggesting Harris might have missed an opportunity to address those
concerns.
"Her subsequent media strategy of avoiding press conferences and
granting few interviews has not helped her to define herself well," Schier
said. "All this explains why her campaign wants another debate with
Trump to further introduce herself and contrast herself with him. Trump is
unlikely to grant her that favor."
'She Has Built Enough Momentum'
Other experts, however, think Harris is in a better-than-expected position
at this point in the race.
Veteran Democratic strategist Matt Bennett told Newsweek that despite
having entered the race incredibly late, inheriting a campaign that she
didn't build and having almost no opportunity to introduce herself or
carve out her own political persona, "it's remarkable that Harris is in as
GOOD a position as she's in."
"She took over a ticket that was deep underwater against a former
President whose chaotic term in office was being viewed by many through
rose-colored glasses. She was weighed down by some bad policy choices
from her 2019 campaign. And her biggest obstacle was inflation—or at
least the public perception that life has become unaffordable in the post-
pandemic era," Bennett said.
And yet, he said, "Harris hit the ground sprinting."
Tom Bonier, a Democratic data analyst and strategist, also told Newsweek
that it is "deeply problematic" to compare polling from the 2016 race to
this election cycle. He added that the jump in Harris' favorability ratings
shows her campaign has "done a quantifiably good job in defining her as a
candidate."
"She and her team have positioned her perfectly as a moderate focused
on economic opportunity, she has performed brilliantly on the big stages
of the convention and the debate, they are bringing in boatloads of
money, and they have made a losing race very competitive," Bennett said.
"The headwinds are still howling, but she has built enough momentum to
overcome them."
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[441983] [441986] [441982] [441984] |
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441983 |
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Date: October 07, 2024 at 10:56:52
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What... |
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Gee OT, do you take anything you post seriously? Do you even read this
crap? Do you agree with it?
Really man, why are you posting this nonsense?
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Responses:
[441986] |
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441986 |
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Date: October 07, 2024 at 11:15:34
From: old timer, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What... |
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sure i read it, i read all these articles and find them informative. some
people like to shoot their mouths off about their opinions while others
read a variety of sources to inform themselves. you are an example of the
former while i’m and example of the latter
do i agree with it? strange to ask if i agree with the news, but this does
seem to be a credible article
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Responses:
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441982 |
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Date: October 07, 2024 at 10:55:06
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What... |
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polls lol.
From what I'm seeing and hearing, Harris is much better.
First off, no one will be complacent this time as in
2016 when many stayed home thinking Clinton had it in
the bag.
2nd, Harris doesn't have the baggage Hillary had and she
has more enthusiasm.
3rd, you're a twit.
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Responses:
[441984] |
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441984 |
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Date: October 07, 2024 at 10:57:51
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Is Kamala Harris A Weaker Candidate Than Hillary Clinton? What... |
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A twit? That’s far too kind Red.
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Responses:
None |
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