Democratic strategist David Axelrod warned that much of Democrats’ enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign is “irrational enthusiasm” because the race remains close.
Harris’ campaign has gotten off to a fast start since replacing President Biden at the top of the list of candidates, breaking fundraising records and sharply shrinking former President Trump’s lead in opinion polls.
“She has momentum, but if you look at the polls, it’s still a very close race,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough fight for either of them, and that’s based on the numbers that we’re looking at right now.”
“So there’s an irrational enthusiasm on the Democratic side right now because they’ve been despairing for a while about what November was going to be like,” he continued. “Now people feel like they have a chance.”
Despite the optimism, Axelrod said the balance still tipped in Trump’s favor.
“Right now, there’s no question that Trump is going to lose this election. He’s leading,” he said. “And he’s leading in most of the battleground states. It’s a close race, and either candidate could win.”
Axelrod is one of several leading Democrats who have urged Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race but has not joined others in the enthusiasm to support Harris. He warned last week that Trump still has a “significant advantage” over the vice president.
The vice president became the official Democratic nominee in a virtual roll call vote last week and is expected to announce his own running mate ahead of Tuesday’s campaign event.
The polls remain tight, with Trump holding just a 1.1 percentage point lead over Harris in The Hill/Decision Desk’s national polling average. In battleground states, polls show both candidates’ margins of victory within the margin of error. The Hill/Decision Desk’s latest model gives Trump a 56 percent chance of winning the White House.
