Commentators and the press seem to have it clear. “I didn’t think I was going to see a debate as devastating as the one in which Joe Biden threw his re-election campaign, but I think what we saw tonight was just as devastating . Kamala ‘knocked down’ Trump on abortion, on January 6 and democracy, on National Security…”, concluded Christopher Wallace, a long-time journalist for CNN and Fox and moderator of the first Donald Trump – Hillary Clinton debate , and then the Trump – Biden debate in 2020 .
But you don’t win elections by convincing your parishioners. A national ABC News express survey shows that, for 47% of Americans, Harris won the debate, compared to 45% who think Trump won. A much closer percentage than what most newspapers give her and which reflects well that, perhaps, Harris was speaking to her Democratic base , to whom she showed that she had the skills and mettle to face Trump face to face , and not so much to win the coveted percentage she needs to win : the undecided.
Kamala Harris has reached the point she has long been waiting for. After becoming the Democratic candidate , she has managed to revitalize a campaign that seemed dead once Joe Biden’s age entered the public debate. The American vice president has managed to raise a record 310 million dollars in donations during the month of July. A figure that doubles what Donald Trump achieved. But Harris has the task of convincing thousands of undecided voters who could be decisive in the final result of the elections on November 5.
Part of the American population is already convinced. This is the case, for example, of the large number of women who have shown their support for Harris for factors such as the defense of abortion rights , which the politician has almost made her banner. Donald Trump , on the other hand, has had changing opinions on this issue. Although the economy is the main issue that worries Americans , according to several surveys, abortion has risen in importance and could become one of the determining aspects for the undecided.
It was, in fact, one of the points on which Kamala knew she was confident against Trump in the debate. “Donald Trump should not be telling any woman what to do with her body ,” she began. Trump insisted on his message that it was not that he wanted to ban abortion , but that what was intended was to “return control of the legislation [in this regard] to the states.” A good point that soon lost weight when the magnate went on to claim that the Democrats intend to “execute babies after birth.” “Nowhere in the US is there any woman who carries her pregnancy to term and asks for an abortion . That is not happening. It is insulting to the women of the US,” responded Kamala Harris.
But at a time when her initial campaign success appears to have stalled, the vice president must break with the image she has projected in recent years and which still persists among many voters. Many of them have seen her as a candidate with a much lower profile than her controversial opponent Donald Trump, while others thought she did not have enough experience to reach the White House. “Many people did not believe that she had the discipline and focus necessary to rise to a position in the White House so quickly … although people knew that she had ambition and star potential. It was always clear that she had the raw talent,” Gil Duran, Harris’ communications director in 2013, told CNN.
Trump has also been pressing the debate about her role as Biden’s vice president , so where has she been all these years of getting things wrong? Harris tried to counter this by presenting an image that her presidency would be “a new generation of leadership.” “I’m not Joe Biden. And I’m certainly not Donald Trump. What I’m offering is a new generation of leadership.”
Harris’s main goal between now and November 5 is to convince undecided voters of this. Although it is difficult to know the characteristics of such a heterogeneous group, a study published by Newsweekprovided some clues about the profiles of those Americans who are still unsure about who to vote for in the presidential elections. According to its results, most of them lean more towards a Democratic ideology than a Republican one.
This figure is in line with a poll by The New York Times and Siena College published this weekend, which found that 28% of undecided voters would like to know more about the vice president before deciding their vote, while only 9% thought the same about the Republican candidate.
The data show that she remains an unknown politician for a portion of the electorate and that she has not yet managed to reach them. Moreover, the same poll says that half of that group of voters think she is “too liberal or progressive .” A majority of voters see her as responsible , at least in part, for the problems along the border between the United States and Mexico . Likewise, a majority of undecided voters say that it is a “risky” choice and “more of the same . ”
The Washington Post has set up a little experiment in the debate, gathering 25 undecided voters (some leaning more towards Harris, others towards Trump). Even those who were leaning towards Trump admit that Harris has won the debate . But the interesting part comes later, when they are asked if the debate has finally decided their vote. The majority remains at the same point, undecided, except for five people who go over to the “I will definitely vote for Harris” camp. No one goes over to the “I will definitely vote for Trump” camp , but it manages to keep its undecided voters leaning towards him. With 25 people, this report is little more than a little experiment, but it reflects the limitations of the debate in a campaign where the Democratic and Trumpist camps are already very marked.
Reaching out to the undecided
Kamala Harris is clear about how she wants to approach those undecided voters . Before Tuesday’s debate , she had already shown more concern about the country’s economy . Specifically, she promised to confront “price gouging” on food and announced that she would seek to support home buyers with down payment assistance and to make rent more affordable.
In this regard, the Democratic candidate must face harsh criticism from Donald Trump. The Republican has criticized both her and Biden for being the cause of economic problems affecting the middle class. “She needs to convince voters that Bidenomics is working even though everything is significantly more expensive than under President Trump ,” the politician said in a statement prior to the debate.
With these accusations behind her, Kamala Harris now has the task of positioning herself as an agent of change, renewal and stability to convince thousands of people that she is the best option to face the former Republican president.
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