Harris campaign shifts strategy as anxiety rises over Trump gains
Harris campaign internal polls show her and Trump in dead heat
Campaign focusing on men, showing Harris as strong leader
Trump donors say they are feeling increasingly optimistic
By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris is shifting her campaign strategy to win over more men and Republicans, and sharpening her attacks on Donald Trump as Democratic anxieties rise over polls showing her rival making strong gains.
The Democratic nominee is in a statistical dead heat in crucial states with Trump, the Republican former president, according to public and internal campaign polls cited by Democratic sources, sparking a round of finger-pointing and second-guessing from some corners.
It is a frustrating moment for a whirlwind campaign that opened with a huge jump in enthusiasm and cash when she replaced President Joe Biden in July, put on a robust Democratic convention and was widely hailed as the winner of heronly debate with Trump.
"This was always going to be a tight race...That doesn’t mean we’re not losing sleep over it," said a senior Democratic campaign aide, reflecting what interviews with donors, aides and advisers show is the mood at the White House and the Wilmington, Delaware-based campaign headquarters.
After weeks of focusing on policy and trying to define herself on the national stage, Harris is going back to her prosecutorial posture of July, an adviser said, hoping to demonstrate strength to voters who might be attracted to Trump's strongman image.
At her Monday night rallyin Erie, Pennsylvania, she took the rare step of showing clips of Trump's remarks about an "enemy within" America to underscore her argument that he poses a danger to the country.
This week, she sat down with Charlamagne tha God to reach Black men and followed up witha confrontational interview with Fox News to address conservatives. Popular podcaster Joe Rogan and his young, male followers could be next.
Nationally, Harris' edge has narrowedfrom a late September lead of seven points over Trump tojust three, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows. More concerning for Democrats: she and Trump are statistically tied in the seven crucial battleground states that will decide the race.
The narrowing polls come as high food and rent prices continue to worry Americans and Trump capitalizes on fears related to migrants crossing the southern border withincreasingly extreme rhetoric.
Stock markets just hit record highs and some prominent analysts say Harris' policies would create less debt and spur more economic growth than Trump's would, but polls suggest voters trust Trump more on one of the top election issues - the economy.
"Kamala Harris is the underdog, like she's been saying all along," said Democratic strategist Anthony Coley. "Many folks thought that language was just political posturing ... But it was true when she first said it in July and true now three weeks out."
Three Trump donors told Reuters in recent days thatthey were feeling increasingly confident about Trump’s chances, chalking the shift up to Americans' focus on immigration and Trump's flurry of recent rallies and events.
"I was on the phone with the campaign. They’re guardedly optimistic," said one donor.
"We just need to win one of the blue wall states, it’s very doable," he said, referring to Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which would give Trump the White House if he also wins Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
Asked about the close race on Wednesday, Harris said: "This is an election for president of the United States. It’s not supposed to be easy."
MARGIN OF ERROR RACE
Nationally, Harris has comfortably won back the suburbs and middle class voters that had slipped to Trump in the final months of Biden's campaign,Ipsos/Reuters polling shows.
But internal Harris campaign polls show her within the margin of error in each of the seven battleground states that will help determine the winner, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. In the latest batch, she is tied in Pennsylvania, up slightly in Wisconsin and down in Michigan, one source said.
Support from men of all races - where Harris' numbers lag Biden's - is a major weakness. The campaign's strategy of aiming toward the center and its failure to fully engage with local Democrats is another, some Democrats say.
Voteroutreach in Michigan has been subpar, said Byron Nolen, mayor of Inkster, a Detroit suburb, and president of the local Democratic club. He said he had to ask the campaign foryard signs and other basic supplies for local voters.
"In my brain, they could have done Michigan better," he said. "We're still trying to get people excited."
Harris'focus on Republicans, even as she ignores someDemocrats' demands to differentiate herself from Biden's policy of staunch support to Israel, is a concern for others.
Aaron Regunberg, a progressive Democratic politician and former Rhode Island representative, questioned the campaign shift from saying "Republicans are weird," a summertime message about Trump and his running mate JD Vance, to "Republicans are great, I want them in my cabinet."
He argues that instead of touting endorsements from Republicans like Alberto Gonzales, a former attorney general under President George W. Bush, Harris should have publicly broken from Biden's Gaza policy to win more support.
With plenty of cash in their coffers, Democrats plan to continue their ground game operation in all seven battleground states and to outspend Trump on digital and television ads. There are no plans right now for Harris to narrow her public appearances to the most critical states.
"Our strategy is to compete everywhere, expand the map, and maximize the number of pathways to victory," campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon wrote in a recent email staff and volunteers.
This week Harris makesstops in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, while her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, holds events in Wisconsin, western Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nebraska's second congressional district, where a win could provide a potentially crucial single electoral vote for Harris.
"It's the final stretch in a close election similar to 2016 and 2020," said Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. "I remain cautiously optimistic."
Reporting by Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Alexandra Ulmer. Editing by Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
