Republican strategist Sharmiel Singleton warned Monday that if the presidential election is more about making history than policy, it will be hard to beat Vice President Kamala Harris.
David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist, said in July that it would be “wise” for Harris not to campaign to become the first black woman president of the United States. But Singleton suggested on “CNN News Central” that it might be “tough” to beat her, given her racial and gender identity, because there's an “opportunity” to make history by voting for her. (Related: “Is that a trick question?”: Kamala Harris rally-goers struggle to explain her policies)
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'An Obama-like moment?': GOP strategist says 'hard' to beat Harris unless race is a 'policy issue' pic.twitter.com/nCsH9iBJ06
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“We've had 28 days of heat on the women's side. The vice president has made gains with Hispanics, he's made gains with blacks. There's still room to gain, but it's not enough for the Democrats,” Singleton told host John Berman. “But looking at this race from a Republican perspective, the big question, at least for me, is can we close the gap in the battleground states — four states that were won or lost in 2020 by less than 100,000 votes. And I would be very concerned, John, if those numbers continue to fluctuate.”
“Because what this shows is that it's no longer a policy issue. This has really become a cultural phenomenon. And it makes it hard to try to strategize to attack it. It's not a white paper issue, it's not a question of where the economy should be. People are not feeling it. This is a question of being excited about a potentially history-changing moment. And that's very hard to counter,” he added. “And I have to be honest about that.”
One male Chicago voter told “Fox & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones on Monday that he was voting for Harris because it would be “historic,” while a female voter told Jones that there was “definitely a lot more pressure” on her because of her race and gender.
“Will there be an Obama moment? I'm not sure yet, but I think objectively there is a chance,” Singleton said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a black woman to potentially become president.”
DENVER: Barack Obama delivers his speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High during the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver, Colorado on August 28, 2008. (Photo by Chuck Kennedy Pool/Getty Images)
Obama, who became America's first black president, defeated then-Republican opponent John McCain of Arizona by more than 7 percentage points in 2008. According to To the American President Project: The Obama campaign moved his Democratic National Committee acceptance speech that year to the Denver Broncos football stadium in order to draw a larger audience. According to To the New York Times.
The previous presidential inauguration in 2009 drew 1.8 million people. According to To ABC News.
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