It's become somewhat of a cliché at this point to react to poll numbers showing Kamala struggling with various demographics, or to look at her recent media "blitz" and say that Kamala, her campaign, or Democrats in general are panicking. When conservative-leaning outlets say as much, it's honestly easy to dismiss it as confirmation bias.
But I think it's safe to say that Democrats are panicking, or, at the very least, they're extremely concerned about Kamala's ability to win in November. And there's an easy way to tell.
For weeks now, the narrative from the media has been that Kamala has the enthusiasm, the vibes, the joy, and the momentum in this race. Kamala has been treated like the Democrats' messiah, resurrecting the party's chances at winning the White House when Joe Biden appeared to be leading them to inevitable defeat. But, suddenly, that narrative has dwindled away to the typical horserace narrative, and now, it's becoming an acknowledgement that Kamala may be in real trouble.
"Democrats’ nerves are at an all-time high," admits The Hill. "Two months ago — even a month ago — they were feeling bullish about Vice President Harris’s prospects of defeating former President Trump. But now, with less than a month to go until Election Day, they’re increasingly worried about a number of issues plaguing the Democratic nominee’s campaign."
Apparently, Democrat insiders are "grumbling" about Kamala's recent interviews (particularly her interview on "60 Minutes") and are concerned that the polls are so static, and that Kamala has lost ground with men, including minority men, and hasn't been able to get it back.
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“Everything is deadlocked and the composition of the electorate is unknowable, and there are so many things that are unprecedented,” Democratic strategist and Harris’s former communications director Jamal Simmons told The Hill. “We can’t look back with any level of security because we haven’t had an African American woman on the ticket. We haven’t had a former president running again. We haven’t had a campaign with two assassination attempts. We haven’t switched out a candidate two months before Election Day before.”
According to Simmons, “If you’re not nervous, you’re not paying attention.”
Democratic strategist Anthony Coley, formerly with the Biden administration, expressed concern over Kamala Harris’s stagnant poll numbers post-Democratic National Convention, which the media had tried to liken to Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.
"Now that the sugar high is gone, people have realized what Kamala Harris has said from the start, which is that she is the underdog,” he said. "This is going to be a fight.”
While national polling has been mixed, but generally kind to Kamala, her leads are typically within the margin of error. Meanwhile, polls in key battleground states remain close, with no candidate leading by even a single percentage point across seven critical swing states, depending on the poll.
“There’s confidence, but it’s measured because the stakes are so high,” Democratic strategist Tim Hogan told The Hill. “For the next four weeks, it’s about channeling that energy in productive ways: getting everyone on the doors and phones to turn out the vote.”
Asked about the state of the race, one major Democratic donor dubbed it a “flip of the coin.”
“I feel better than I did last week, but it still doesn’t feel great,” the donor said. “I have a pit in my stomach.”
The donor attributed the feeling to several things but mostly pointed to one major flaw: Harris’s economic message wasn’t resonating.
“And the economy is issues No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,” the donor said.
The article notes that Harris has launched a media "blitz" recently to counter Republican attacks about her lack of interviews and press conferences. Democrats have expressed satisfaction with her media presence but criticized her messaging on vital issues, such as the economy and immigration. A Democratic strategist told The Hill that while Harris’s remarks on gun ownership could resonate with moderates tired of Trump, her overall messaging has not landed effectively. “She is still fine-tuning her message 28 days out, and I’m sorry, we are in the ‘make the sale’ phase of the campaign now, we’re not still tweaking the message."
The joy is clearly gone, and it's been replaced by panic. And when the liberal media admits it, we should take it seriously.
