Staff Reports
The election clock is ticking down fast, and it appears Kamala Harris is trying for a miracle in the dying minutes, aiming to dethrone her own party’s sitting president. Harris seems to believe she can defy political gravity and swing voters to her side—an undertaking that has never been attempted before in American history. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is focused on revisiting his 2016 victory by maximizing turnout in key swing states and reminding voters just how disastrous the Biden presidency has been. It’s a classic case of David vs. Goliath, but Goliath might want to watch his back.
As the spotlight shines brightly on Harris, it’s worth noting that her track record is about as solid as a wet paper bag. Despite being part of the Biden administration, she has never successfully campaigned for a national office. Many voters have considered her an unknown—a novelty that might be fun for a party convention but not suitable for running the country. Her spectacular flameout in the 2020 primaries left her with no votes under her belt, raising the question of whether she can pull together the right coalition in such a short time frame.
Like the last 4 years, you uninformed woman. https://t.co/xsvx2au1jF
— Mia R Culpepper2 (@miaculpepper2) October 11, 2024
In contrast, Trump is in a position where everyone knows the role he’s playing. He’s trying to solidify his base while also expanding it, and voters are already familiar with the script. The past two elections showed him comfortably pushing through swing states, and now, the lingering question is whether the polls will underestimate his support yet again. Typically, when polls show Trump trailing, there is a history of the ending result being much closer than the forecasts suggest.
When looking at the current numbers, one has to admit it’s not a rosier picture for Harris. According to RealClearPolitics, she’s sitting on a slim lead of only 1.8 points nationally, which is practically a tie in electoral math. This is a decrease from her high point of 2.2 just a couple of weeks ago. Notably, she’s already trailing behind both Biden and Clinton at this stage in their respective campaigns; think of it as the political equivalent of watching your team lose even though they started off strong.
The battleground states portray an even grimmer picture for the Vice President. Trump is edging out Harris narrowly in critical states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina—just a smidge in each case but enough to send alarm bells ringing for the Democrats. It’s becoming clear: if Trump can snag those three, he’s on track for a comfortable 270 electoral votes, which is the magic number for victory. Less than a month away from the big day, Harris needs to ramp up her game and find a way to wrest control back from the man who once again seems ready to bulldoze his way through the Rust Belt.
Ultimately, the election may hinge on Pennsylvania, where historically, whoever snags the state has a good shot at winning the presidency. Harris’s puzzling choice to bypass popular Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro remains a topic of bewilderment. With her current vulnerabilities in the Southern states, her approach resembles a high-stakes poker game where the dealer seems to have all the best cards. If she carries the Midwest states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, she might yet have a chance. But without a strategy to regain critical ground, she might find herself hoping for a Hail Mary—a polling miracle that may not come her way.
As the days tick down, the political dynamics are becoming starkly clear: Trump gains momentum, while Harris is left fumbling in the dark without a clear identity or solid support. Whether she can rally the troops—or even just herself—remains to be seen. One thing is certain: any Democrat sitting in a favorable polling position before Election Day is already living on borrowed time. If history teaches anything, it’s that Trump’s supporters could well surge in the final stretches, leaving Harris looking for answers in the dust.
