Democratic strategists are encouraging the Harris campaign to become more aggressive, amid concerns that the early momentum generated primarily by Harris' debate performance and the Democratic National Convention is fading due to a variety of factors. I'm looking for it.
“I'm scared to death,” Democratic strategist James Carville said Wednesday.
“Now that the sugar high has passed, people have realized what Kamala Harris has been saying all along: She's an underdog,” said Anthony Corey, a former Biden and Obama staffer turned political consultant. told The Hill..
“If you're not nervous, you're not paying attention,” added former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons.
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David Axelrod, former White House senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, speaks to guests at a 2009 White House event. (Joshua Roberts Poole/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, David Axelrod, widely considered the political mastermind behind former President Barack Obama's 2008 victory, acknowledged that “Harris got off to a great start through the conventions and debates,'' but “the campaign has plateaued.'' “It has become,” he admitted.
Carville said he was “scared to death” about Nov. 5 during an interview with MSNBC's Ari Melber on Wednesday. Carville estimates that with Hurricane Milton dominating the news cycle, Harris only has about 20 days to spread her message.
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An anonymous Democratic strategist told The Hill that Harris is still “tweaking her message” as Election Day approaches. “We're currently in the 'pitch' stage of the campaign. We haven't adjusted our messaging yet,” the strategist said.
Criticisms from Democratic strategists included suggestions that the Harris campaign would become more aggressive.
“They need to be sharp. They need to be aggressive. They need to stop answering questions and start asking questions,” Carville insisted on Wednesday. “I think she and the entire campaign need to be much more active and less passive than they are.”
Political commentator James Carville ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“With these campaigns, every time you clear a bar, the bar goes up,” Axelrod added. “We need to step up our game and adjust our strategy.”
As Election Day rapidly approaches, the race remains close between the two candidates, although polls in three battleground states show former President Trump in the lead.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll, Harris maintains a three-point lead over Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. But that's down from Harris' 6-point lead in a September Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvania voters.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)
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A Quinnipiac poll in Michigan shows Trump with a 3-point lead, and Trump has a 2-point lead in Wisconsin. A Quinnipiac poll last month showed Harris leading by 5 points in Michigan, and a poll in Wisconsin showed her leading by 1 point over Trump.
“That was then, now is now,” said Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy. “Harris' post-debate starburst faded into obscurity as she entered her final weeks sliding slightly into the Rust Belt.”
