US Vice President Kamala Harris has been able to cut down Donald Trump's lead in the last few weeks, suggest recent polls. Harris has been able to unite the Democratic voters before the big fight in November. Trump and his team haven't missed her momentum and are gearing up to target her.
Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio calls it the "Harris Honeymoon".
After Joe Biden's exit from the Presidential polls, the Republicans are focusing their attacks on Kamala Harris.
"San Francisco Radical"
Donald Trump's team is bringing focus to Harris' left-leaning stands during her 2020 presidential campaign. In 2019, in an effort to align with Democratic primary voters, she endorsed policies such as scrapping private health insurance, reforming policing, decriminalising undocumented entry and supporting the Green New Deal. Now, these positions are being used against her by opponents like David McCormick and Donald Trump, who released a video titled "Meet San Francisco Radical Kamala Harris."
Kamala Harris As Prosecutor
Harris's background as a prosecutor and California attorney general is under attack too. She has previously used this experience to criticise Trump. Now, Trump's campaign, led by Chris LaCivita, is targeting Harris' years as a prosecutor, citing her tough stance on drug crimes affecting black men and instances where she didn't prosecute or paroled offenders who committed crimes again.
"Border Czar"
Another approach Republicans are taking is to tie Kamala Harris to the unpopular decisions and policies of the Joe Biden administration. They are linking her to issues like immigration policies and inflation, making her own record as vice-president a liability.
Republicans have labelled her the "border czar" for her past statements on immigration. Taylor Budowich of the Trump campaign has announced a $32 million ad campaign targeting her.
Tony Fabrizio of the Trump campaign argues that Harris can't escape her past actions and promised that voters will soon see her as Biden's "partner and co-pilot" with a "dangerously liberal record."
Trump vs Harris: Polls
The latest polls indicate a tight race between Trump and Harris. A Wall Street Journal poll shows them neck-and-neck at 49% to 47% in a two-person matchup, within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted between July 22-24 shows Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters in a head-to-head match. According to Bloomberg, an unweighted average of the polls conducted after Biden exited the presidential race shows Harris trailing Trump by 1.6 percentage points.
Harris is also expected to get 69% of Black registered voters, up from 59% for Biden last month. She has increased her party's share of Hispanic voters from 45% to 57% and under 30 voters from 46% to 56%. These could potentially boost her chances in the election.
