Evan Roth Smith on Harris’ missed opportunity on “The View”

Slingshot partner Evan Roth Smith explained to Semafor’s Shelby Talcott why Harris would do best to clearly define herself as separate from Biden.

“Evan Roth Smith, the lead pollster for the centrist firm Blueprint, noted that their own research showed voters want Harris to emphatically draw distance between herself and Biden. Emphasizing a ‘clear break between her and Biden’ on issues like health care and lowering the costs of gas and groceries performed best in message testing.”

“‘What we saw consistently was that voters like it more when she either clearly says, ‘I am not Joe Biden,’ or pretends Joe Biden doesn’t really exist,’ Smith told Semafor. ‘I don’t think this was a botched answer or anything like that. It was just a missed opportunity to do something that voters could have really liked.’”

“Notably, despite Harris being in the current administration, more voters currently see her as the ‘change’ candidate, according to recent national polling released by The New York Times. Smith described that polling as ‘pretty remarkable,’ and something that’s likely driving all of Harris’ numbers.”

Read the full Semafor article here.