Democratic anxiety grows ahead of Harris-Trump match-up
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — "This is a make-or-break moment for Harris,” said Ray Zaccaro, a Democrat strategist and former Senate aide, noting that Democrats are mindful that tonight's high-stakes debate could be “catastrophic or monumental” after Joe Biden’s campaign was derailed by his disaterous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27th.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a candidate with more weight on a given moment than this candidate will have at the debate,” he added.
A Democrat Senator, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely on the subject, said anxiety is running high within the party ahead of Harris's taking the stage.“Yeah, I’m nervous – if you’re a conscious, informed Democrat, you’re nervous. How could you not be?
"All these battleground states are 48 to 48%, 49 to 49% – and there’s a lot of support there for Trump that seems incomprehensible, but it’s there,” said the senator, who explained that voters’ view of the economy is a factor.
“She’s not tested. I think she is going to be as well-prepared as anyone could possibly be, and they’ll go over every foreseeable scenario” about what Trump may say or do on stage.
“I think the critical thing in this debate is for her to have three really good lines,” the Democrat Senator and lawmaker said.
"All these battleground states are 48 to 48%, 49 to 49% – and there’s a lot of support there for Trump that seems incomprehensible, but it’s there,” said the senator, who explained that voters’ view of the economy is a factor.
“She’s not tested. I think she is going to be as well-prepared as anyone could possibly be, and they’ll go over every foreseeable scenario” about what Trump may say or do on stage.
“I think the critical thing in this debate is for her to have three really good lines,” the Democrat Senator and lawmaker said.
Mr. Zaccaro said that even Democrats at the recent National Party Convention in Chicago were already nervous in anticipating tonight’s debate – knowing an hour on stage could make or break a candidate who had largely stayed out of the spotlight – or whose record had come under the intense scurtiny that Harris's has during her time as vice president.
“Because of the anxiety of what this debate could actually turn out to look like, people are extremely anxious about her performance,” he said.
“Given how well her rollout has gone – I think there have been relatively few missteps and everything has gone according to plan – based on the current polling, it is somewhat surprising that she’s not doing better in the polls.
“Given how well her rollout has gone – I think there have been relatively few missteps and everything has gone according to plan – based on the current polling, it is somewhat surprising that she’s not doing better in the polls.
Zaccaro said Harris has yet to flash the kind of magic in spontaneous campaign settings that made former President Obama a star in 2008. That’s partly because her campaign has carefully controlled her public appearances.
Harris’s public appearances have been tightly scripted since President Biden was forced to exit the race – but a long evening behind a lonely debate podium with only a pad of paper, a pen and a bottle of water presents candidate Harris with an array of uncertainties that makes Democrats nervous.This is especially true when it comes to Harris's having to defend her and Joe Biden's record, as many Americans across the country are continuing to struggle financially.
When it comes to criitical “Direction of Country” question:
- the latest Harvard-Harris Polls shows that 61% of Americans believe that under the Biden-Harris regime, the nation on “the wrong track,”
- while only 30% believe the country is headed in “the right direction,”
- – a negative -31% rating.
- Rasmussen Reports latest Right Track-Wrong Track Surevy showed a nearly identical
- 61% Wrong Track,
- 34% Right Track
- differential of minus 27%.
The poll showed that 28% of "likely voters" say they still need to see and learn more about Harris – which Democrat's collapsed timeframe with Harris at the top following Biden's dropping out may not allow.
Two-thirds of likely voters said they need to learn more about Harris’s policy and plans, while less than half of voters said the same thing about Trump.
Polling expert Nate Silver is giving Trump a 64% chance of winning the Electoral College.
Two-thirds of likely voters said they need to learn more about Harris’s policy and plans, while less than half of voters said the same thing about Trump.
Polling expert Nate Silver is giving Trump a 64% chance of winning the Electoral College.
Republicans strategists have urged former President Trump to stick to the issues – and avoid personal attacks that could make him look like a rude or possibly alienate the crucial women's vote.Harris is fully aware of the high stakes for her campaign, and spent days holed up at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh to prepare for her face-to-face showdown.
Other Democratic strategists say they believe Harris would be on course to beat Trump on Nov. 5th if she can “get past” the debate without committing a major gaffe – or leaving voters with doubts about her leadership vision.
“She has to get past this debate. It shouldn’t matter as much as it’s going to matter, but it does,” said one high-level Democrat strategist.
“If she gets by and does well, then from there – 10, 15 days later early voting starts in some of these states, and you’re off to the races.”
Mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, for example, will be available 50 days before Election Day.
“If she gets by and does well, then from there – 10, 15 days later early voting starts in some of these states, and you’re off to the races.”
Mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, for example, will be available 50 days before Election Day.
The strategist said Harris’s performance will be important in defining herself to white working-class voters in the key swing states – such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which make up the “blue wall” that Democrats are counting on to beat Trump.
“We have a problem with white working-class voters, and Trump performs really well with those folks,” the Democrat acknowledged.
The strategist said Democrats are wary that the polls may not be capturing the reluctance of some voters to elect a Black woman as president.
The strategist said Democrats are wary that the polls may not be capturing the reluctance of some voters to elect a Black woman as president.
If Harris loses any of those blue wall states, she’d have to win more traditionally Republican-leaning states, such as Arizona, Georgia or North Carolina, to secure the 270 Electoral Votes needed for victory.
Democrats have for days been privately acknowledging a growing sense of anxiety over Harris's sbility to perform against former President Trump – especially her performance's potential impact on down ballot races across the country, including some that will determine who controls the U.S. Senate come 2025.“There’s a sense of real caution about expectations on her performance,” said Zaccaro, the Democrat strategist.
Morgan Jackson, a Democrat strategist based in Raleigh, N.C., said a lot is riding on Tuesday night.
“The stakes are high at this debate,” he said.
“The debate is a big deal. It’s a very big deal.”
