Politico: Harris Faces 5 Concerns After DNC

Politico magazine, on Tuesday, issued five concerns surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate heading into the November election. Among them included: "Tight polling in battleground states," she hasn't sat for an interview yet, a question of how a debate between her and former president Donald Trump will be conducted, Trump's support among white men appears stronger, and she hasn't outlined any economic policy since the announcement of her candidacy.

Since the Democrat Party's coup to oust President Joe Biden over fear he would "hurt them in the races," Harris' team has been marketing her as an underdog candidate in the race. However, according to Politico, the vice president still needs to address five key concerns.

"Tight Polling in Battleground States"

Politico points out that a number of polls commissioned by Democrat-run operations show that Harris and Trump are running neck and neck in swing states. However, according to veteran Democratic strategist Doug Herman, "Nobody knows what to believe, except that Trump's numbers are probably underrepresented."

Notably, though, during the 2016 election, the polls were shown to be heavily skewed toward favoring then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and roughly two weeks before the election, The New York Times ran a piece reporting that Clinton had a 91% chance of winning.

Harris Hasn't Sat for an Interview Yet

According to Politico, Harris has pledged to sit for an interview before the end of August. But, with the end of the month only days away, it is unclear if the candidate who has struggled with off-script media appearances will follow through.

One veteran Democratic strategist has said one-on-one TV interviews have been "one of her central challenges."

Harris, the anonymous strategist added, "has always struggled with interviews and has an argumentative streak in those interviews. She vacillates between argumentative and word salad."

A Question of How a Debate Will Go

A minor concern, Politico noted, is how a debate will go between Trump and Harris. The main issue of concern is whether or not the candidates would have their microphones switched off while the other is speaking. Initially, when questions were swirling about whether or not the two would debate, the Harris campaign mocked Trump's hesitation with a chicken emoji. Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday that he would take up Harris in a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. Trump told reporters on Monday, "It doesn't matter to me" if the microphone is on or off. "I'd rather have it probably on." According to reports, the debate will feature muted microphones.

Harris Struggles with White Voters and Men

While Harris has initially been reported as making vast inroads with a number of demographics, she has struggled to gain favor among white voters and men both in swing states and nationally.

"Some would say that putting the thumb on the scale and increasing turnout among other subsets of the electorate is far more fruitful for her campaign, and it's hard to argue with that," Herman said. "That said, you don't want to get your clock clean with any subgroup when you're in a tight election that's neck and neck across the board."

Harris has No Economic Policy

During Harris' nomination acceptance speech at the Democrat National Convention, there was zero mention of any economic policy for the country, which has been struggling with inflation. However, the only clear position inferred from the speech was that the candidate was pro-abortion. Still, a large and vague chasm looms with respect to her domestic and foreign policy. Notably, Harris' website does not mention any policies.

Herman stated that Harris has "had a million things to do that are far more important" than letting the voters know what her policies are. But, he noted, "Kamala Harris needs to flesh out her policy positions as part of the campaign in order to have a broad mandate to govern if elected."