Former Obama Chief Strategist David Axelrod has said that undecided voters still don’t have a strong perception of Kamala Harris.
The veteran campaign manager said on CNN that while middle-ground voters have a firm idea of who former President Donald Trump is, they’re less settled on what a Harris administration would look like, which could make things more difficult for her in November.
The statements come as the Harris campaign zeros in on swing states in the Midwest, with heightened campaigning in Pennsylvania.
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“One important thing to note is that undecided voters have a pretty strong judgment about Donald Trump. They’re skeptical about politics generally, and they don’t particularly like Trump, but they don’t know very much about Kamala Harris. They’re open to her, but they’re also prepared to be disappointed by her,” Axelrod said on CNN.
“The big task for her campaign is to continue to fill in the picture of her, particularly around transactional issues like the economy. I don’t think what she needs is a voluminous list of policies, but there may be a few signature policies that speak to economic experience and quality of life to give voters a sense that she gets it.”
Newsweek reached out to the Harris campaign via email for comment.
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Former President Barack Obama’s chief strategist remains among the most plugged-in tacticians in the party, and he has been far more cautious about the vice president’s 2024 odds than many of his peers.
“I’m not sure who would win, and I think it may well be President Trump because it’s an Electoral College fight,” Axelrod told CNN last month. “For a Democrat to win to those battleground states, they need to have a significant lead in the Electoral College.”
Axelrod acknowledged that Harris has made “extraordinary progress” over the last month and noted that “things have changed dramatically” since President Joe Biden exited the race but cautioned that it is still a competitive race.
He said that while the vice president is right to encourage voters, she must turn their enthusiasm “into energetic action in order to win the election.”
After Trump and Biden’s June 27 debate, Axelrod was among the first voices to warn that the Democrats did not have much chance of winning with Biden on the ticket.
“Only Joe Biden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?” he asked.
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