Several Arizona voter focus groups polled about Vice President Harris ahead of the November election, and the responses reinforced the perception that she is an unpopular candidate. Los Angeles Times.
Days after Harris spoke in Arizona on April 12, the political group Republican Voters Against Trump invited the media to watch videos of interviews with three different voter focus groups. One was a person who voted for President Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020, and the other was a Black voter. Voters disappointed with Biden and another “California Democrat.”
The Times reported on the opinions of crossover voters, saying, “Their assessment was brutal. Even if she’s helping Biden, you don’t know it. She’s rubbing me the wrong way.” “She was chosen for demographic reasons. The big thing she was chosen for.” Yes, she failed. ”
Harris talks about what President Trump’s second term will look like during campaign stop in Arizona
The LA Times recently reported that focus groups of voters view Vice President Kamala Harris unfavorably. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Gunner Lamar, political director for Republican Voters Against Trump, summed up the view to the Times: “Floating voters don’t like her.”
The other two groups were less hostile toward Harris, but they were less complimentary of her. “Not a single focus group of black voters disappointed with Biden raised their hand in support of Harris, and one participant called Harris a ‘bad news bear,'” the report said. he pointed out.
He added: “California Democratic Party focus groups said they liked Ms. Harris but needed to be encouraged to discuss her and that she needed more influence and exposure.”
This view of Harris is not surprising given that she is even less popular than President Biden and former President Trump, both historically unpopular presidents.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll last month found that about 52% of registered voters disapproved of her performance as vice president. Moreover, only 36% of those surveyed said that she was coping well with her job, and 10% were undecided.
David Paleologos, director of the Center for Political Studies at Suffolk University, argued in a report in USA Today that Harris’ unpopularity will be a major talking point in this election.
“Normally, the debate about the vice president is secondary and subdued, but this time it’s going to be a louder, almost parallel debate,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris attends Celebration Bowl to support her alma mater: ‘It was a good game’
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a “first in the nation” campaign rally at South Carolina State University on February 2, 2024 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Harris has heard criticism since entering the White House,” the LA Times reported, and has “stepped up her appearances with core groups of Democrats” in response.
During this campaign, the vice president has leaned toward defending abortion rights. Late last year, she began her Reproductive Freedoms Fight tour, traveling around the country to energize Biden voters on reproductive freedom issues.
The L.A. Times said Harris’ allies said, “Her role as the administration’s leading spokesperson on abortion rights has led her party to unexpected success in the 2022 midterm elections, an issue that has seen Harris’ I believe this will support the Democratic Party’s ticket.”
But the paper noted that voters in focus groups did not notice that the state Supreme Court upheld the 1864 abortion ban, even though she spoke out in Tucson earlier this month.
“Several voters said in interviews in Phoenix on Monday that they had no idea Harris had been in their state just a few days earlier, highlighting the challenge of gaining attention as vice president in an age of information overload. became.”
In one of the focus group interviews, Black Democratic voter Tracy Sayles said, “If she comes for us, she doesn’t show it.”
Other voters similarly defeated Harris. “But from what I’ve seen of her, she’s not the person I want running the country,” said Jeff Garland, a military veteran who voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. I can’t see it,” he declared.
President Biden and Vice President Harris. (Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX NEWS AP
The Biden/Harris camp takes a different view. Campaign communications director Brian Fallon told the newspaper that the vice president “has proven to be a very effective messenger on issues ranging from reproductive freedom to gun violence prevention.” “We are uniquely positioned to mobilize critical groups across the Biden-Harris coalition.” Includes both progressives and independents. ”
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
