Harris’s Michigan Nightmare – Will PTSD Hand Trump the Win?

With election day creeping closer, some Michigan Democrats are already sweating over a possible repeat of Hillary Clinton’s stunning 2016 loss.

Vice President Kamala Harris is currently in a neck-and-neck race with former President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports, and the memory of 2016 haunts them. Back then, Michigan slipped away from the Democrats despite polling favoring Clinton up until the bitter end.

“Smart Democrats have a healthy sense of paranoia,” admitted Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist in Michigan, speaking to the Associated Press (AP). He didn’t mince words: “If polling is as far off as it was in 2016, we’re cooked.”

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As reported by Fox News, a tight race is unfolding in Michigan, with a New York Times/Siena College poll giving Harris 48% of the vote, while Trump is nipping at her heels with 47%. It’s a stark reminder of the way Clinton’s lead evaporated in 2016, handing Trump Michigan by a razor-thin margin.

That loss ended a decades-long streak for Democrats in the state, who hadn’t lost Michigan since 1988.

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Hemond pointed out how polling didn’t capture the extent of Trump’s support back in 2016. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who’s running for Senate, echoed that skepticism, quipping to the AP, “Anyone who’s from Michigan knows that, if you believe the polling, I got a bridge I’m going to sell you somewhere.”

While Michigan Democrats are flush with cash, it doesn’t seem to calm their nerves. Former Republican Michigan Governor John Engler remarked to the AP, “Democrats’ financial resources absolutely dwarf anything that the Republicans have.”

However, Trump’s campaign has focused on showing up in previously neglected areas of the state, a strategy that could prove decisive in such a tight race.

During a recent virtual fundraiser, Slotkin reportedly expressed concern over Harris’s standing in Michigan, claiming the Vice President was “underwater” in key polling. Some say this is just typical rhetoric to keep fundraising momentum alive. Slotkin didn’t hold back, saying, “I’m not feeling my best right now about where we are on Kamala Harris in a place like Michigan,” according to Axios.

Lori Goldman, a Democratic activist who runs Fems for Dems, a Michigan voter outreach group, shared that fundraising has seen peaks and valleys. “What did we see? Money coming in like crazy. Everybody was excited. There was such a bump,” she said. “And now, you know, it’s neck and neck. It is PTSD,” she added, referring to the trauma from 2016.

Meanwhile, Democratic strategist Schuh emphasized the need for Harris to define her message clearly. Schuh told the AP that the voters he spoke to wanted to “hear more about what Harris stands for as a candidate.”