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CV NEWS FEED // Democratic politicians and strategists in Michigan are reportedly worried that Kamala Harris may lose the battleground state’s vote, as Hillary Clinton did in 2016.
The Associated Press reported that Harris must “almost certainly” win Michigan to win the election and polling suggests that most state residents are currently skeptical of her.
However, some Democrats pointed out that polling doesn’t always reflect reality.
“Anyone who’s from Michigan knows that, if you believe the polling, like, I got a bridge I’m going to sell you somewhere,” Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin stated, according to the Associated Press. Slotkin is on the ticket as the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat.
The Associated Press reported that Harris’ campaign has thus far drawn suspicion from two major demographics in Michigan: the nation’s largest Arab community in the nation, which is in Dearborn, and the employees of traditional gas-powered car manufacturers.
“As vice president, Harris was the tie-breaking vote for the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $7,500 tax credits for new electric vehicle purchases,” the Associated Press reported, later adding that another “complication for Harris in metro Detroit has been opposition to the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the war in the Middle East.”
A Dearborn resident, Kamel Ahmad Jawad, was killed in Lebanon this week during an Israeli airstrike, which the Associated Press reported amplified the current negative sentiment among the Arab community toward Harris and her policies.
Amy Chapman, a Democratic strategist who directed Barack Obama’s campaign in the state in 2008, told the Associated Press that the presidential election has proven to be extremely tight in Michigan in the past two election years.
“Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes. In 2020, Biden carried it by a little more than 154,000 votes, but only by 2.8 percentage points,” the Associated Press reported.
“If people are worried, they should be,” Chapman stated. “But, not in an ‘oh no’ way, rather in a we-have-to-work-hard way.”
The Associated Press also noted that while Harris’ campaign has been spending significantly more on advertising in the battleground state, the vice president herself has been focusing more on the voters living in the liberal area around Detroit, rather on those living in the rest of the state.
“Democrats’ financial resources absolutely dwarf anything that the Republicans have,” former Republican Michigan Gov. John Engler stated, according to the Associated Press. “But Trump is making stops in locations that have never had presidential visits before, and those are impactful with margins this close.”
In regards to polling, neither Trump nor Harris seem to be clearly in the lead. After 2016, however, when polls showed support for Clinton, Democrats are now skeptical.
“Smart Democrats have a healthy sense of paranoia,” Michigan Democratic strategist Adrian Hemond said. “If polling is as far off as it was in 2016, we’re cooked.”
