MSNBC guest and Cook Political Report analyst Dave Wasserman said Friday that voters are receptive to Vice President Kamala Harris' economic proposals, even though they are “similarly populist” to those of President Joe Biden before he gave up on reelection.
Wasserman appeared on “The Katy Tarr Report” to discuss Harris' North Carolina speech outlining her economic goals if elected. The political analyst argued that there is an “amazing” new energy coming from Harris as the party's “new messenger.” (Related article: “It will likely lead to higher prices”: Washington Post columnist criticizes Kamala Harris' economic plan on CNN)
“The reason Donald Trump is winning more votes among Hispanics, blacks and young people than he did four years ago is because of a widening gender gap, at least in polling so far, where he's winning mostly from men, mainly on side-by-side economic comparisons,” Wasserman said.
Wasserman said voters have shifted from a favorable view of the economy because of “interest rates,” and he pointed to the significance of the Federal Reserve's decision in September to potentially cut interest rates.
“That's why I think what Kamala Harris says, plus what the Fed does this fall, will have a big impact on whether she can convince voters to stay the course and adopt the plan,” Wasserman continued. “It's the same kind of populism we saw with Biden, but the change that a new messenger brings is surprising, because in battleground state polls, Trump only had a 6-point lead on cost of living and keeping inflation in check. Joe Biden was trailing by 20 points on this question in a May poll.”
“That's a very big thing. Dave, it seems to me that part of what you're arguing here is not so much about policy, but rather about personalities, and more about packaging than actual policy,” Tarr responded.
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Before Biden gave up his reelection bid on July 21, he had been struggling in the polls as Americans expressed concerns about the economy from a possible second term. A May poll by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business found that about 49% of voters said Biden's policies were hurting the economy, up from 47% in April and 45% in March.
A recent poll by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan showed Harris leading Trump by one point on who they trusted on the economy, with 42% backing her and 41% believing the economy would improve under Trump. Nearly half of those surveyed said they believed the Biden administration's policies had a “harmful effect on the economy.”
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