Evan Roth Smith on what Kamala Harris needs to do to persuade independent voters

Slingshot founding partner Evan Roth Smith discussed the latest Blueprint polling results with Vox’s Christian Paz. Voters are yet to form a strong impression of Kamala Harris — meaning that she has a real opportunity to define herself as someone who cares about the things Americans care about, most importantly, fighting crime, securing the border, and bringing down inflation.

“They are ready for optimism, to hear why she wants to be president, and — even more fundamentally — just learn who she is. Plenty of voters have heard of the vice president, but many don’t know much about her past, her accomplishments, and her life experience, Blueprint’s chief pollster Evan Roth Smith told me.”

“‘People really want to know who Kamala Harris is, and people are interested in finding out more about her. That is part of the atmospheric shift that’s taken place in this race,’ Smith said. ‘There’s a lot more interest in hearing Kamala Harris and her campaign talk about Kamala Harris — more so than there is in hearing her talk about Donald Trump, or even Joe Biden.’”

“‘Don’t tell people about the last four years. People have complicated, often unfavorable, views of Democratic governance over the last four years, and they do not yet tie her to some of the perceived failures of the Biden administration,’ Smith said. There’s also a downside to talking about Trump and defending Biden: Doing so could remind people Harris was around during that time as well.”

“‘On these big, salient issues — the economy, inflation, and immigration — she should define herself outside of the last four years and very, very, very carefully cherry-pick items from the Biden years to be associated with,’ Smith told me.”

“Those test way at the bottom for Republicans. They are barking up the wrong tree,’ Smith said.”

“‘This is what people are the most excited about when they hear about [her]: a mix of ‘I was attorney general, and that allowed me to a) go after bad guys and b) go after bad guys who are coming over the border, and c) go after the big companies who are ripping you off’,’ Smith said. ‘It avoids reminding people too much about the past four years, it avoids having to say the name Joe Biden too much, and now she can introduce herself to voters without strengthening that association.’ All together, Blueprint’s findings offer a logical next step for the campaign as the thrill of the honeymoon period ends and as disengaged voters begin to tune into the election. Up until now, the 2024 election has seemed to be mostly about the vibes. But the vibes won’t stay positive forever. It might be smart to make the most of them now.”

Read the full Vox story here.