In some respects, Kamala Harris is on a critical roll. She swiftly consolidated the help of the Democratic Get together after a fractious inside effort to oust Joe Biden, sailed by way of the Democratic Nationwide Conference and caught the touchdown by decisively profitable her first debate with Donald Trump.
However Election Day remains to be over 50 days out — a very long time to go for a candidate grappling with actual political liabilities and dealing with a brutal opponent in a razor-tight race. What can Harris and her staff do to take care of her momentum into November?
For one reply to that query, POLITICO Journal reached out to Man Cecil, the veteran Democratic strategist and longtime former head of the Democratic tremendous PAC Priorities USA.
His recommendation to Harris HQ? Make sure that voters know simply how shut the election is prone to be, regardless of all the nice vibes at the moment enveloping the marketing campaign.
“Crucial factor that the Harris marketing campaign can do — which I feel they’re doing — is constructing an operation and executing a plan that assumes it’s going to be a detailed election,” Cecil mentioned.
Cecil additionally had a brisk message for fellow Democrats who’re fretting that Harris isn’t doing sufficient to differentiate herself from Biden on coverage: Sit back.
“I feel these are parlor video games — it’s not likely how the American folks course of data,” he mentioned. “So long as we preserve the give attention to drawing the distinction with Trump, I feel she’s going to win.”
The next has been edited for size and readability.
How would you consider Harris’ standing within the race after this week’s debate?
I feel it’s laborious to think about that the controversy may have gone any higher. She actually needed to accomplish three issues: One, she needed to display that she may carry out on a presidential stage at a presidential degree. Two, she needed to lay out some particulars — specifically because it pertains to the financial system, which nonetheless is a urgent challenge for many People, and display power on nationwide safety. And third, I feel she needed to — some folks preserve calling it baiting Donald Trump — however actually what she did is simply proceed to disclose the individual that he’s. I feel that was fairly clear from the start of the controversy by way of the very finish.
So in the event you’re interested by what does any candidate hope to do [in a debate] — encourage their base and discuss to persuadable voters — I feel she was fairly spectacular in engaging in each of these issues.
Do you assume it’s going to have an enduring influence on the race, or is it simply going to be a short-term sugar excessive for Democrats?
I don’t give it some thought as a sugar excessive. The way in which that I give it some thought is Kamala Harris is constant to introduce herself to the nation, and it’s laborious to think about, at the very least in fashionable instances, a candidate who has confronted so many important moments. The way in which she dealt with the hypothesis over President Biden, the way in which that she rallied help round herself for the nomination, her choice of Tim Walz, her speech on the conference, the conference itself, which needed to activate a dime for 2 new candidates, after which her efficiency at this debate.
At each level she has excelled, and I don’t know that one specific second is the second that’s going to show the election. Not simply checking containers however excelling at every of these items is setting her up for fulfillment. It’s much less a few sugar excessive and extra about simply persevering with to carry out at a excessive degree and demonstrating to the nation that she is provided to be president and that he’s not.
That mentioned, the race remains to be very, very shut if the polls are to be believed. When you have been advising Harris and her staff proper now, what would you inform them to give attention to and commit their assets to within the close to time period?
The very first thing — and I feel they’re doing a reasonably good job of this — is level-setting expectations.
[Campaign chair] Jen O’Malley Dillon has executed this in her final two memos, and Harris has executed this in each speech that she’s given. It’s going to be a detailed election. We barely misplaced in 2016; we gained by a comparatively small margin in 2020 and the nation is split. Crucial factor that the Harris marketing campaign can do — which I feel they’re doing — is constructing an operation and executing a plan that assumes it’s going to be a detailed election.
That will sound apparent, however whenever you examine the bottom operation of the Harris marketing campaign versus the Trump marketing campaign, you see a reasonably outstanding distinction between the 2 by way of numbers of workers, numbers of volunteers, numbers of workplaces, numbers of door knocks, the way in which folks have responded on the small donor degree in an unprecedented means. Specializing in the issues that matter — constructing an operation, constructing a turnout marketing campaign, persevering with to give attention to growing the degrees of curiosity amongst Democratic or probably Democratic voters whereas nonetheless sustaining a reference to the small variety of undecided voters — is important.
The opposite factor is constant to mix her coverage prescriptions together with her personal private story. I feel she did job of that in her speech on the conference. She did quantity of that throughout the debate, and I feel her success goes to proceed to be in combining these two issues so that individuals concurrently get to know her as an individual and get to know her insurance policies. Most presidential candidates don’t have to do this, and it may be tough to should do these on the identical time, however I feel she’s executed job of that to this point.
The polling signifies that voters nonetheless need to know extra about her coverage plans — particularly undecided voters who’re saying they nonetheless don’t know sufficient about what she truly hopes to do. How can she give these voters a greater sense of her precise plans?
Effectively, first off, I feel that is an inexpensive expectation, and it’s not shocking. Joe Biden has been on the nationwide stage [for decades], Donald Trump has been on the nationwide stage for years at this level, and anyone that pays consideration to historical past is aware of that even a vp who has been on the nationwide stage for an extended time period than Kamala all the time has to introduce themselves to the nation, as a result of that is the primary time they’re actually being seen in their very own mild.
It is also not sensible to assume that somebody’s going to roll out each single coverage inside eight weeks of changing into the nominee of their occasion. And so I feel she must proceed rolling out [her plans]. She’s put out a reasonably sturdy financial agenda, significantly round the fee that on a regular basis People face round lease. She’s clearly laid out a powerful plan because it pertains to points round alternative. I feel final night time you noticed her beginning to dig in additional on points round safety, and I feel you’ll see her persevering with to attract a reasonably sturdy distinction between her and Trump — taking one thing that Trump assumed was some form of power and highlighting the truth that it’s a weak point.
I don’t discover it alarming — and it’s not shocking — that individuals need to hear extra. To me, that looks like a reasonably acceptable factor for many People to need, and I feel the Harris marketing campaign is aware of that and goes to proceed rolling out some of these coverage agendas on points which can be necessary.
However nothing wants to vary both with the pacing or the tenor or tone of those coverage bulletins?
I don’t assume something wants to vary on tenor or tone, and I feel they’ve elevated [the pace]. Take into consideration the financial agenda, which she rolled out simply a few weeks in the past, or the selection agenda, which she rolled out quickly after she introduced. She began speaking about what she would do on immigration. Basically, she’s been saying coverage as soon as each week since she’s gotten into the race. That looks like a reasonably good move for the rest of the cycle.
One other lingering weak point for her appears to be the notion that she’s only a continuation of the Biden administration and its insurance policies, and her makes an attempt to distinguish herself don’t appear to be breaking by way of. Are there extra dramatic measures she must take to attract that distinction?
I give it some thought much less as ‘Is she breaking from Joe Biden, or is she persevering with?’ What I feel is that it’s fairly apparent that Kamala Harris is her personal individual. She has a special background and a special perspective, and she or he has launched coverage proposals that weren’t a part of the Biden agenda. However the concept she goes to change into a conservative or change into Trumpian or change into a basically totally different individual — I feel Kamala has been fairly constant on that entrance.
I feel she will be able to proceed to roll out her agenda. It’s not about what Biden would do, what Biden ought to have executed, what Biden may do, what Biden would do in one other time period. We are actually within the Harris marketing campaign, the Harris agenda, and I feel she’s dealt with it effectively. She has served as his vp. She was on his ticket. She’s in his administration. She’s not going to do a 180-degree flip, however she’s going to current her personal agenda for the American folks.
That’s the assemble that I view it by way of. I don’t assume People are interested by this within the context of Joe Biden. They’re interested by what Kamala Harris goes to do for the subsequent 4 years and what Donald Trump goes to do for the subsequent 4 years. And so long as we preserve the give attention to drawing the distinction with Trump, I feel she’s going to win.
OK, however Republicans appear intent on framing the dialogue as ‘She’s only a continuation of Biden, their agendas will likely be largely the identical.’ Is there no worth — purely from the standpoint of political optics, if nothing else — of her with the ability to make some grand gesture of breaking with him?
I suppose that Democrats have additionally been arguing that Donald Trump could be a continuation of Donald Trump, and he’s making an attempt to separate himself from his personal coverage agenda. The inarticulate dialogue round abortion within the debate, for instance, the place he outright refused to reply the query [about vetoing a national abortion ban]. And the final two weeks, he has held each coverage place round it, as a result of he’s making an attempt to obfuscate his place. In Kamala’s case, she’s answering questions instantly.
I don’t assume this election goes to be determined as a result of Kamala Harris selected one coverage challenge that she’s going to make a political level. I feel it’s going to be gained as a result of she places ahead an agenda — her agenda — and she or he contrasts that with Donald Trump. I used to be concerned in Senate races for 20 years, and plenty of of these races have been run in states the place the alternative occasion gained the presidential [contest], and I keep in mind tying ourselves up in knots on discovering this differentiation. The place it exists, she ought to say so and the place it doesn’t exist, she ought to say so.
I simply query that there’s some form of political want [to break with Biden]. I feel that individuals can take heed to and see and perceive what her coverage proposals have been and know that she will not be Joe Biden. However they’re each Democrats.
The place does that differentiation exist?
Joe Biden didn’t have a plan to take care of renters in the identical means that Kamala Harris does. Is {that a} break from Joe Biden, or is {that a} continuation of Joe Biden? You inform me. She’s proposed a special tax coverage than Joe Biden — identical values, however there’s a totally different tax coverage that she has placed on the desk. Is that persevering with Joe Biden as a result of she needs to lower taxes on the center class and the working households however enhance taxes on billionaires and massive companies, or is it breaking from Joe Biden as a result of the tax degree is totally different?
I feel these are parlor video games. It’s not likely how the American folks course of data.
Effectively that segues properly to my subsequent query, which is do you assume her media technique is working? Is she creating sufficient alternatives for herself to attract these factors of distinction?
Are you speaking about paid media or earned media?
Information media — sit-down interviews and the like. She’s solely executed one prolonged interview with a cable information channel, and she or he’s stored a reasonably low profile in any other case. Ought to she be doing extra of that form of factor to make the forms of factors that you just’re saying she ought to make?
I feel it is nice if the Harris marketing campaign does extra interviews. I feel she did exceptionally effectively within the final one. I might take challenge with [the suggestion that she’s] preserving a low profile. She’s executed extra public occasions than Donald Trump since she gained the nomination, so I don’t assume she’s preserving a low profile. She’s been attending rallies. She’s been collaborating in official enterprise. She’s been touring the nation. If something, her profile has been greater than Trump. But when they need to do extra interviews, I feel it will accrue to her profit.
I might name one sit-down interview for a presidential candidate a comparatively low media profile, however perhaps that’s simply semantics.
You’re interested by media as doing an interview with a publication or an outlet. I don’t think about Donald Trump calling Sean Hannity “doing media.”
You spent a few years working a Democratic tremendous PAC, Priorities USA. How do you assume tremendous PACs ought to be approaching the subsequent two months of the race?
When you have a look at the advertisements from teams like Future Ahead, American Bridge Precedence, a number of the different tremendous PACs which can be doing work — a number of them are amplifying what the Harris marketing campaign has put ahead, utilizing video content material from her rallies or speaking about her financial agenda. I feel the extra that we’re targeted on optimistic messaging for Harris and contrasting messaging [the better] — that means that in the identical advert, in the identical mailer, in the identical door dialog, we’re evaluating the ahead wanting agendas of Harris and Trump. That’s the place we ought to be from a message perspective, and I feel that’s what they’re doing, for probably the most half.
I feel extra funding in organizations which can be near the work — organizations like BlackPAC, Automotive in Motion, Deliberate Parenthood, Emily’s Record, Somos Votantes — would assist.
These are organizations which can be nationwide in scope however regionally targeted, so extra funding in these organizations would assist them instantly talk with Democratic voters and sure Democratic voters — not simply by way of turning them out, but additionally by way of doing that final little bit of persuasion work that may be executed with individuals who could have been reluctant earlier than Harris bought into the race.
So total, I’m listening to you say that issues appear to be in fairly good condition for Harris — that the marketing campaign must proceed doing what it’s doing, and issues will shake out in its favor.
I feel two issues may be true on the identical time. I feel that they’re doing an ideal job as they proceed specializing in group and proceed specializing in that mixture of private and coverage — and it’s going to be a detailed election. Each of these issues are true. They’re not in battle with each other, however the way in which that we’ll win is that we draw a powerful, forward-looking distinction with Donald Trump.
I feel the one factor that I used to be not assured they’d be capable of do — or that anyone would be capable of do — was to personal the “change” message or the “change” mantle. And I feel they’ve actually executed a reasonably spectacular job on this “turning the web page” and forward-looking message, on transferring past the chaos and anger and angst that’s on the core of the Trump message. That’s a reasonably tough factor to do for an incumbent administration, and I feel they’ve taken the steps essential to make that stick going ahead.
