Vice President Kamala Harris is well known to Americans in some ways – she’s made history as the first woman to hold the position – but as a candidate, there’s still considerable mystery around her.
That means that Harris is in a position to reinvent herself in the short months left before the election. According to a report from Axios, she aims to do just that. People might know Harris now for her often-memed “we did it, Joe” moment and “coconut tree” comment, but Harris is hoping people will soon be talking about her economic policies.
Both Axios and CBS News reported that Harris is expected to unveil information about her plans for the economy Friday during a rally in North Carolina. There, she’s set to give her first significant policy speech since becoming the presumptive Democratic candidate.
Harris has faced some criticism for her lack of interviews since Biden dropped out of the race.
“The knock on Harris by some former staffers is she can overthink things to the point of exhaustion — and confusion,” said Axios.
Going into the 2024 election, the economy is a weak spot for Democrats where voter sentiment is concerned. Although some experts stress that current President Joe Biden has managed to keep the economy healthy in the wake of a pandemic, high inflation and high interest rates have put pressure on consumers. Under this pressure, views on the economy have become critical.
According to a recent CBS News poll, only 9% of registered voters rated the condition of the national economy as “very good” and 44% were concerned that Harris’ polices would make them financially worse off. CBS also noted that inflation and the economy have been top concerns for Americans polled throughout the year.
However, new poll results released by the Financial Times this week provide hope for the Harris team. It found that respondents find her more trusted on the economy than the GOP’s candidate, former President Donald Trump.
“Harris was jazzed,” about the poll results, Axios said. It added that she is planning to focus on “middle-class worries and woes,” and CBS said campaign officials revealed she’ll outline a plan to lower costs for middle class families, to make inflation a “Day 1” propriety and to take on corporate price-gouging.
Previously, Biden has headed similar measures to that one, including his March announcement that the Biden-Harris administration would crack down on credit card late fees. Still, Axios said the vice president is looking to distance herself from her former running mate.
“A big part of the Harris plan is to unapologetically change some of her more liberal positions, and claim her White House experience helped change her mind,” said the report. “Yes, when she was running for president in 2019, she was against fracking, for decriminalizing illegal border crossings, and for single-payer health care (Medicare for All). No more. She has backed off all three.”
In her apparent more toward the political center, Harris has even embraced one of Trump’s ideas – to end taxes on tips earned by service and hospitality workers. Axios said that proposal is popular in Nevada, “one of the biggest swing states.”
A new campaign video for Harris also emphasizes her middle-class roots and mentions how she worked at McDonald’s while earning her college degree at Howard University.
“Donald Trump has no plan to help the middle class – just tax cuts for billionaires,” said the video.
In a Wednesday X post, Harris said she plans to protect and expand Social Security programs. In a Tuesday post, she said the conservative Project 2025 agenda some have linked with Trump would “take us backward.”
While the economy might be a weak spot for Democrats right now, Harris’ plans for reinvention are fueled by a slew of positive polling news. According to Monmouth University poll results released Wednesday, “Democrats’ enthusiasm has skyrocketed since they swapped their presidential nominee,” and Harris’ favorability ratings had pulled higher than Trump’s.
“Now that the contest is Trump versus Harris, voter enthusiasm has risen to 68%,” said Monmouth. “The biggest jump has been among Democrats (from 46% in June to 85% now), but there has also been a notable increase in enthusiasm among independents (from 34% to 53%). Among Republicans, enthusiasm for the Trump-Harris contest (71%) is identical to what it was for the Trump-Biden rematch in June (71%).”
Trump still had a slight lead (46%) over Harris (45%) regarding voter confidence in bringing needed change to the country, but Harris had an advantage over Trump (49% to 44%) when voters are asked how much the candidates “understand the day-to-day concerns of people like them.” Teen Vogue said that Harris is also polling well among Americans age 18 to 29.
Along with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris has been touting a campaign based on “joy,” as noted by The Hill. It said this approach contrasts “sour moods across the country” and Trump’s criticisms of Biden-Harris administration policies.