‘Not So Good For Harris’: Democratic Strategist Pours Cold Water On Dems’ Hopes For Rust Belt

A Democratic strategist warned Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris might be losing supporters in the Rust Belt even as she closed a polling gap with former President Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly claimed the support of the necessary delegates to claim the Democratic nomination Tuesday, two days after President Joe Biden announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination and endorsed her as his replacement in the 2024 presidential election against former President Donald Trump. Julian Epstein, a former chief counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, said that working-class voters were moving more toward Trump on “Mornings with Maria.”

“You really have to do an average of the polls,” Epstein explained to “Mornings With Maria” co-host Cheryl Casone. “If you do an average of the polls, Donald Trump is still ahead by about one to two points in the national election and still ahead in most battleground states. That’s according to five of the seven most recent polls. So, what we’ve seen is that the race has returned to the pre-debate norm where it has been stuck all year.” (RELATED: ‘Don’t Think A Lot Of Men Will Vote For Harris’: Swing-State Voter Tells CNN She Doubts Harris Can Carry Battleground)

WATCH:

‘Not So Good For Harris’: Democratic Strategist Pours Cold Water On Dems’ Hopes For Rust Belt pic.twitter.com/dLOwpfQG3F

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Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris by 1.7% in a national head-to-head matchup, according to the Real Clear Polling average of polls from July 5 to 25, with Trump’s lead growing to 1.8% when Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein and independent presidential candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are included in surveys.

By comparison, Trump held a 3.1% lead over President Joe Biden a national head-to-head matchup before the president ended his reelection bid, according to the RealClearPolling average of polls, with the lead expanding to 4.2% when Stein, Kennedy and West were included in surveys.

“The one change that you are seeing, you know you really have to look at the crosstabs in the polls as well, and crosstabs is a fancy way for your viewers of saying you look at the demographic breakdown of what’s in the polls,” Epstein continued. “The significant change that we’re seeing is that Kamala Harris seems to be attracting more young voters that were leaving the Democratic Party and more black voters that were also leaving the Democratic Party under Biden and that’s good for her. On the other hand, older voters and working-class voters seem to be moving towards Trump, that’s bad news for her.”

“The reason that’s bad news for her is because most voters in the Midwest states, the rustbelt swings, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin are older and working-class,” Epstein said. “So, essentially what has happened, as you return to the pre-debate norm, but you’ve traded a California voter for a Pennsylvania voter, which is not so good for Harris.”

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