Staff Reports
The Vice President’s campaign appears to be entering a state of denial, as Kamala Harris recently dodged questions about her sinking internal polling numbers. With the race against former President Donald Trump heating up, Harris’s once-secure lead has evaporated like a snowman in July, leaving her grasping at the last shreds of optimism during a press event in Philadelphia.
When questioned about the influence of internal polling on her campaign strategy, Harris confidently declared that her instincts trump any hard data. It’s a curious stance, especially for someone navigating a political landscape where facts are usually more reliable than gut feelings. The Vice President seems to relish in the idea that her intuition is akin to reading tea leaves, rather than responding to actionable information coming from polling experts.
Polling aggregates tell a different story. Data from RealClearPolitics indicates Harris has slipped into a tight race, once holding a solid lead over Trump, now reduced to a statistical tie. Emerson College’s recent data backs this up, showing Trump gaining ground and proving that political momentum might just be an illusion fueled by Harris’s grandiose claims at crowded rallies. It’s hard to argue “momentum” when the numbers don’t lie, but that hasn’t stopped Harris’s PR machine from cranking out feel-good soundbites.
Harris relies on ‘instinct’ for internal polling as lead over Trump slips https://t.co/PjFidnydrs
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 29, 2024
At her recent events, Harris touted impressive attendance figures, referring to 30,000 attendees at a recent rally as evidence of mounting “enthusiasm.” While large crowds can create excitement, the Vice President must be careful not to confuse quantity with quality. High attendance doesn’t necessarily translate to votes, especially when the excitement could be less about Harris and more about folks showing up to witness the spectacle. If these events are anything like her usual speeches, plenty of people are probably just there for the show and not the message.
On a sobering note, even some of Harris’s staunchest supporters are ringing alarm bells. Former President Barack Obama’s team has reportedly expressed concern over faltering support among key demographics, particularly black men—a crucial voting bloc for Democrats. In a battleground state like Pennsylvania, where voter sentiment is shifting, this could yield serious implications for her candidacy. With just eight days to go until the election, it remains clear: no amount of wishful thinking or instinctual guidance is likely to cover up the mounting concerns surrounding Harris’s campaign.
