Harris Heads to Chicago With Momentum — and GOP Criticism Rising

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Kamala Harris is headed to the Democratic National Convention riding a wave of momentum, as Republicans work to leverage an advantage with voters by attacking her new economic agenda. 

A poll released Sunday shows that Harris leads Trump narrowly in a head-to-head matchup, 49% – 45%, among registered voters nationally. The same poll, from the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, showed a dead heat in early July when the candidate was President Joe Biden.

Article content

The results are in line with other recent polls showing how much Harris’ replacement of Biden atop the ticket has shaken up the race and energized Democrats. 

But the poll, like others, show voters have more confidence in Republicans on the economy. It showed 46% trust Trump more compared with 37% for Harris, with similar numbers for inflation. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

“The most absurd thing that Kamala says at her rallies is: on Day One, I’m going to tackle the food and housing affordability crisis in this country,” JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential pick, said on Fox News Sunday.  “Day One for Kamala Harris was three and a half years ago, and everything that she’s done has made the affordability problem worse.”

In an appeal to middle- and lower-class voters on Friday, Harris called for an end to price gouging at the grocery store and proposed new tax benefits and subsidies aimed at assisting first-time home buyers and families with children. 

“She’s going to the Soviet Union playbook to lower prices, called price control,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. 

Article content

Article content

Inflation is broadly on a downward trend as the economy slowly shifts into a lower gear. Underlying US inflation eased for a fourth month on an annual basis in July. Core consumer prices — which excludes food and energy costs — increased 3.2% in July from a year ago, down from the 2022 peak of 6.6%.

Graham, who has criticized some of Trump’s tactics in the race, said that Republicans can win if they talk about policy and especially the economy. He said his worry is that Trump — who at a rally on Saturday called Harris “a lunatic” and claimed he was better looking than her — might not do so. 

“His policies are good for America, and if you have a policy debate for president, he wins,” Graham said. “Donald Trump, the private – the provocateur, the showman – may not win this election.”

Harris’ policy announcement came just ahead of the convention in Chicago, themed “For the People, For Our Future.” It will feature a lineup of former presidents and party leaders, including Bill Clinton and Barack and Michelle Obama. The city is also bracing for large-scale protests from demonstrators who oppose Israel’s war in Gaza and US support for it.

Article content

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, were campaigning in southwestern Pennsylvania on Sunday. 

In interviews Sunday on the eve of the convention, senior Democrats praised Harris’ performance since she became the nominee — and argued her economic plans were both sound and popular. 

Harris “understands what people are struggling with and wants to help you keep more money in your pocket,” Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, a key state for Democrats to win, said on NBC. “And she’s got a plan on all those fronts to help more Americans be able to get a path to prosperity.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, Democrat of Illinois, said Harris’ plan was for “the people who are counting on those tips to help them pay their grocery bills, put gas in their gas tanks.” 

“Then we need to go after the wealthiest Americans who don’t pay their fair share, and frankly, Donald Trump is on their side. He’s on the side of corporations. He’s on the sides of people who make over a million dollars,” she said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. 

—With assistance from Victoria Cavaliere.

Article content