How Harris Earns Swing Voters in Swing States

Five themes to help Harris and Walz build support among working class voters.

As they kick off their sprint for the White House, the Harris Walz campaign has used “Freedom” as a theme to rally supporters around basic rights that Trump threatens: choice, public safety, voting, and labor rights. (Harris should add the right to retire in dignity and emphasize her support for Social Security and Medicare, since half of voters still don’t know where she stands on this.)

Harris must now use the convention and her fall campaign to attract new swing state voters, most of whom did not graduate from college. This means expanding the themes, memes, and vibes to introduce voters to her priorities and values. Harris should focus on “Affordability”, “Invitation-Only Immigration”, “Alliances”, and “Public Investment” along with “Freedom”. Her goal is to speak to the concerns of working class families without succumbing to Clinton-level policy details.

“Affordability”. Harris should describe how her administration will reduce the cost of housing, food, training, health care, and energy. She should lay out a vision of increasing supply, not subsidizing demand.

She can borrow from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and  “Build, Baby, Build”. Attack federal barriers to housing construction, starting with pointless environmental rules. Promise to break up food processing monopolies in meat, grain, dairy, beverage, and packaged foods. Offer to match state investments in public colleges and universities that do not increase tuition. Offer tax credits to companies that provide accredited apprenticeships. Strengthen Obamacare and Medicare. Negotiate prices on more prescription drugs using advanced market commitments. Talk about cheap energy, not green energy (increasingly, they are the same thing). Follow Tim Walz on creating incentives for public utilities to expand transmission and lower energy costs. 

Harris can draw a sharp contrast with Trump, whose tariffs will raise prices across the board. He’s a real estate mogul who drives home prices up. Trump University was a scam. His health care plan is to abolish Obamacare. He would end public support for low-cost energy. Trump will raise prices on things we care about most.

“Invitation-Only Immigration”. Harris needs to reclaim immigration as a progressive value by championing generous, invitation-only border policies. Emphasize her work with Mexico that has dried up illegal border crossings. Revive the bipartisan border deal that strengthens enforcement and closes the asylum loophole. Expand both skilled H-1B visas and H-2B visas for temporary, nonagricultural workers. Advocate regional visas like Canada successfully pioneered. Offer a green card to those who earn advanced degrees at accredited universities. Invite physicians, programmers, and scientists.

Again, the contrast with Trump is stark. He wants to scapegoat immigrants, build walls that don’t work, and sabotage bipartisan problem-solving.

“We Defend Our Allies”. Harris will take office in a world endangered by Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea. Voters need to know that Harris has the resolve to defend American allies and interests. She needs to make clear that she will increase the defense budget to close serious gaps in our capabilities. And that she will demand that Germany and France to do the same. Again the contrast with Trump, is acute: he will sell America out to Putin, Xi, and the worst instincts of Bibi Netanyahu.

“Public Investment”. Common sense says that we should grow programs that return more than they cost. Revive the Child Tax Credit, which cut childhood poverty in half. Expand the GI Bill, one of America’s best escalators to the middle class to include other forms of national service. Grow investments in scientific research, early childhood education, and infrastructure. Point out that Biden/Harris have delivered historic progress in this area and Trump did not.

Voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will decide this election. All six of these states have large majorities of working class (non-college) voters. Obama carried these voters by 4 points in 2012. Clinton lost non-college voters by 3 points in 2016; Biden lost them by 4 points in 2020. Although her numbers are improving hourly, a February Times poll had Harris losing non-college voters to Trump by 19 points.

Some on the left will criticize Harris for pivoting to the center. In truth, every successful presidential candidate does this (even Trump). Moreover, these critics will, as Gaza protesters did yesterday Detroit, provide Harris with more Sister Soulja moments that will earn her the respect of voters she needs.

Regardless of their gender, race, or religion, working class voters will determine the outcome of this election. For the next ninety days, Kamala Harris should not speak to anyone else.