Staff ReportsKamala Harris’ performance as a vice-presidential candidate has shown one thing crystal clear: a lot of confusion over who she truly represents. Reports indicate that Harris found herself on the wrong side of several key voter demographics, especially among the working-class, who she was supposed to charm and inspire as a leader in the Democratic Party. If anything, her strategy of coziness with Wall Street and corporate America appears to have backfired, leaving her — and the Democrats — struggling to keep their footing.
Throughout her campaign, Harris attempted to balance the tightrope act of appealing to both the bustling Wall Street financiers and the beleaguered working-class voters. While she eagerly targeted corporate price gouging, she still made an effort to show that she could loosen the leash a bit for big business. In what may have been an attempt to woo Wall Street, Harris touted a tax plan that was less harsh than the one her boss, Biden, proposed—a ploy that didn’t seem to resonate with the very voters she needed on her side. The New York Times even suggested that her economic ideas were influenced by trips to meet influential financiers, further muddying her message with everyday Americans.
Kamala Harris’s party completely alienated its blue-collar voting base, framing them either as nasty bigots or helpless victims | ✍️ Gerard Baker https://t.co/S9iyJTzwZR
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 8, 2024
Despite her attempts to focus on small businesses in her campaign, it seems her outreach to those high-rollers did little more than alienate the working-class demographic. The problem was simple: while she aimed for the stars of high finance, she forgot to follow the boots on the ground. Working-class voters, especially union members, looked less than impressed with her pitch and her divisive ties to corporate interests.
The Democrats have been reeling from a steady loss of loyalty from working-class voters since Trump began his historic campaigns. While Joe Biden, in the past, was able to stop the bleeding with some relatable charm and thoughtful connections to unions, Harris could not replicate that success. Despite her union endorsements and close ties to union leadership, voters appeared skeptical of her intentions. Even noted labor groups like the Teamsters failed to throw their endorsement behind the Vice President, signaling discontent with the Democratic platform.
The stats paint a grim picture for Harris and her allies: she stumbled particularly hard with rural voters, performing worse than her predecessor Hillary Clinton. Trump won these critical voters by a whopping 30 percentage points, while Harris only managed to secure urban voter support by a measly 21 points. It seems clear that while Harris aimed for Wall Street’s favor, the average American worker was left feeling underrepresented and neglected, further consolidating a shift toward Republican interests in the American working class.
