Simone Lawson
The 2024 election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a close race, with Harris aiming to become America's first female president. While Harris had an advantage on the airwaves, Trump's campaign strategy focused on courting men and blaming Harris for chaos at the southern border. To win, Harris needed to mitigate the damage on border security issues and mobilize her base of nonwhite and female supporters in key battleground states through door-knocking, voter mobilization, and local presence. The election outcome would depend on which side could turn out more voters and ultimately, a handful of voters in a few critical states would decide if Harris would become the next president.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Campaign themes | Positioning Harris as a middle-class champion, protecting abortion rights |
| Campaign strategy | Door-knocking, voter mobilization, local presence, and calling voters |
| Target audience | Women voters, Black voters, Latino voters, Democratic-leaning Asian Americans |
| Key states | Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire |
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What You'll Learn
Focus on the ground game: door-knocking, voter mobilization and local presence
The 2024 election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is expected to be a close race, with polls showing a tight competition in seven battleground states that are likely to decide the outcome. In such a scenario, Harris's "ground game" could be crucial to her victory. This involves the unglamorous but essential mechanics of door-knocking, voter mobilization, and utilizing local presence to engage and turn out supporters.
Door-knocking, or going door-to-door to speak with voters, is a traditional yet effective campaign strategy. It allows for direct, personal engagement with voters, enabling the campaign to explain Harris's policies and vision, answer questions, and address concerns. This strategy is particularly important in swing states, where a small number of voters can make a significant difference in the election outcome. These include states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, where elections have been decided by slim margins in the past.
Voter mobilization is another critical aspect of the ground game. This involves encouraging and assisting voters to turn out and cast their ballots. This can include providing information about polling stations, offering rides to the polls, and ensuring voters have the necessary identification to vote. Given the close race, every vote counts, and effective voter mobilization can help ensure that Harris supporters turn out in large numbers.
Local presence and engagement are also key components of a successful ground game. This involves having a visible and active presence in the community, such as setting up campaign offices, organizing local events, and participating in community activities. This strategy helps to build relationships with local voters, gain a better understanding of their concerns, and demonstrate that Harris's campaign is invested in their community.
By focusing on these ground-game tactics, the Harris campaign can increase its visibility, engage directly with voters, and mobilize supporters. These strategies can be particularly effective in reaching low-propensity voters who may need that extra encouragement to turn out. In a tight race, these efforts could be the deciding factor in Harris's bid to become the first female, Black, and Indian American president of the United States.
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Emphasise Harris' middle-class credentials and Trump's elitism
Kamala Harris's campaign and her allies have focused on two themes: positioning Harris as a middle-class champion and Trump as a self-serving elitist, and protecting abortion rights. Harris has unveiled policy after policy designed to relieve the stress of financial precarity for middle- and working-class families. She has also focused on abortion and reproductive autonomy to appeal to women voters, seizing on Trump's success in ending Roe v. Wade. Harris's campaign has been more effective than Trump's in terms of campaign mechanics, with a focus on door-knocking, voter mobilisation, and local presence.
Harris's paid-media campaign has helped her close the gap with Trump on handling the economy, with her policies offering to relieve the stress of financial precarity for many American families. Harris has also focused on other issues affecting middle- and working-class families, such as increases in healthcare costs, rising rent and home prices, and spikes in childcare costs. She has also emphasised paid family leave to relieve the burden on new parents.
Trump, on the other hand, has been criticised for his lack of ideas about how to fight for the middle class. Instead, he has focused on his culture war fetishes and picked a former venture capitalist as his running mate. Trump's gains with voters of colour and his focus on courting men, including young Gen Z men, pose a challenge for Harris. However, his unwillingness to concede after his 2020 defeat and his role in the January 6 riots have also loomed large for many voters.
The middle class is a highly sought-after demographic in electoral politics, and both Harris and Trump have invoked the term frequently in their campaigns. While there is no universally accepted definition of "middle class," it is often defined economically as the middle 60% of households in the income distribution. Harris has emphasised her middle-class credentials and presented herself as a champion of the middle class, in contrast to Trump's elitism.
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Campaign on abortion rights and reproductive autonomy
Kamala Harris has made abortion access and reproductive rights a central focus of her campaign. She has positioned herself as the reproductive rights candidate, vowing to restore reproductive freedoms and protect abortion rights. Harris has promised to support a bill restoring Roe v. Wade's protections or veto any national abortion ban. She has also routinely linked the fall of Roe to the larger issue of rising maternal mortality nationwide.
Harris has a history of fighting for reproductive health issues, especially Black maternal health. She has been a leader during the Biden administration in preserving access to mifepristone and supported the move to make mifepristone available at retail pharmacies. She has met with women across the country who have been denied care because of their state's abortion restrictions, and some of them have joined her on the campaign trail.
Harris has made it clear that she trusts women to make decisions about their own bodies and that she is committed to reproductive health and freedom. She has said that her administration will not waver in its dedication to preserving access to essential medication and defending the FDA's independent, evidence-based approval and regulation of medication abortion.
Harris' campaign on abortion rights and reproductive autonomy is aimed at appealing to women voters, especially those for whom abortion is the most important issue. It is also intended to mobilize less politically engaged women and highlight her opponent's controversial record on women's rights.
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Target white voters and older voters
To help Kamala Harris win, targeting white voters and older voters is key. This is a demographic that Trump has been campaigning heavily towards, and Harris needs to make inroads with these groups to be successful.
Firstly, Harris should focus on her strengths on economic issues. While the economy is a key issue for these voters, Harris has been able to close the gap with Trump on this issue. She should continue to emphasise her middle-class credentials and present herself as a champion of the middle class, in contrast to Trump, who can be portrayed as out of touch and only interested in helping himself and other rich people. This strategy could help her appeal to older voters, who are more likely to be concerned about economic issues.
Secondly, Harris should continue to emphasise her support for abortion rights. This is an issue that has galvanised many voters, particularly women, and it is an area where Harris has a significant advantage over Trump. The threat of a national abortion ban is very real, and Harris should use this to her advantage to motivate voters, especially women, to turn out for her. This could be a powerful message to counter Trump's economic messaging, which may resonate more with older voters.
Thirdly, Harris should focus on her ground game and get volunteers knocking on doors and calling voters in key states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. These states have a high proportion of white and older voters, and personal contact and mobilisation efforts can make a significant difference in a close election. This strategy can help Harris reach voters that Trump's celebrity status and reliance on media personalities may not reach.
Finally, Harris should emphasise her experience and qualifications for the presidency. As a former District Attorney of San Francisco, Attorney General of California, United States Senator, and Vice President, she has a strong record to run on. This experience can appeal to older voters who may value stability and traditional qualifications more highly than younger voters.
By targeting white voters and older voters with a combination of economic messaging, a strong stance on abortion rights, effective ground game, and emphasis on her qualifications and experience, Harris can improve her chances of winning the election.
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Win over Black and Latino voters
While Kamala Harris did receive the majority of the Black and Latino vote in the 2024 election, Donald Trump made significant inroads with both groups. Trump's gains with voters of colour were particularly notable, and this required Harris to focus on traditionally Republican voter pools, such as whites and older voters.
To win over Black and Latino voters, Harris needs to focus on the issues that are important to these groups. For example, economic concerns are a top priority for many Latino voters, and Harris can emphasise her position as a middle-class champion, in contrast to Trump's image as being out for himself and other rich people. She can also emphasise her support for abortion rights, which is a galvanising issue for many voters. Harris has an advantage over Trump on this issue, and it is helping her close the gap with Trump on the economy.
Harris also needs to focus on her "ground game", which includes the unglamorous but important mechanics of door-knocking, voter mobilisation, and using a local presence to turn out supporters. This could be particularly important in getting out the vote for low-propensity voters, who need encouragement to turn out. Trump, meanwhile, has relied on his celebrity status to reach supporters and has outsourced other elements of the turnout push to his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who has no experience in this area.
In addition, Harris can emphasise her support for reproductive rights, which is an important issue for many Latino voters. She can also focus on her record of breaking barriers as the first female, Black, and Indian American vice president, and her plans to continue fighting for the people as the first Black woman and Indian American person to become president.
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