Harris’ closing message must separate her vision from Biden’s

“Just win, baby.”

While acknowledging her unpopularity in swing districts, that was then-Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in 2018 to vulnerable Democratic incumbents and challengers weighing the political calculus of opposing her as House Democratic leader.

In the end, distancing herself from Pelosi worked for several Democratic incumbents and hopefuls, helping the party maximize its gains as it retakes the House. Most notable in red Pennsylvania District 17, Republicans ran ads trying to tie rival Conor Lamb to Pelosi, cheekily calling him one of “Nancy Pelosi’s sheep.” However, the attack never resonated. From the start, Lamb has vowed not to support Pelosi. He ended up winning the hotly contested special election, pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the cycle.

We are now seeing a similar dynamic in this year’s presidential election. While Harris certainly shouldn’t reject any of President Biden’s policies that he championed as vice president, there is the same imperative to create more political distance.

In recent days, the campaign has been working on the challenge, with reports that Harris was “weighing” how can he differ from Biden. In his recent speech in Philadelphia, Biden said “Kamala will take the country in her own direction,” offering perhaps the most direct message of light yet between him and his vice president.

To be clear, Harris’ message about protecting American democracy and restoring abortion rights was stellar. That, along with the fact that she’s a younger, more stable alternative to an increasingly delusional and vindictive Donald Trump, may well be enough to tip her over.

But with Election Day less than a week away, it’s critical time for Harris to make his case by distinguishing himself on key issues where voters are looking for new direction. Voter concerns about high prices, the rising cost of living and immigration remain serious electoral liabilities that could yet propel Trump back to the White House.

Most troubling to Harris is that these concerns are particularly evident among working-class voters in the swing states that will determine the election. A POLL of these voters of my organization, the Progressive Policy Institute, reveal that they not only see inflation as the most important problem facing the country, but say that the main blame for rising costs is the country’s current economic policies.

That’s why it’s critical that Harris use his final message to outline his own forward-looking vision and resist the temptation to over-defend his legislative accomplishments of the past four years — regardless of their merit.

The Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and CHIPS and the Law of Science they have been remarkable achievements, but implementing historic levels of federal investment is a tedious process, and most of their impacts are still far from being realized by ordinary people.

As a result, many of these voters can currently see nothing but a lot of government spending, which again, they believe, has increased their home prices and made their daily lives more expensive.

of Harris recent rhetoric working more with the private sector and self-identifying as a “pragmatic capitalist” is a positive step in changing the narrative of her economic approach. But she can go further, pledging to be more fiscally prudent in addressing concerns about overspending and outlining how she will tackle rising costs more aggressively, offering her own ideas such as be freezing new spending until the big Biden initiative dollars are out the door and providing relief to the working class by cutting the payroll tax.

While voters responded well to the Harris campaign’s messages about cracking down on price-gouging corporations, they still routinely support American companies — no matter their size — as long as they play by the rules, offer them low prices and strengthen our economic hand against China and other opponents.

A return to an antitrust policy that kicks in when concentration raises prices, as opposed to the current ideologically driven tendency to go after anything and everything “big” is another area of economic policy where Harris can signal to voters that she is serious about delivering low costs.

Perhaps most frustrating for the Harris team is that Trump maintains his lead on immigration despite repealing the bipartisan immigration deal in broad daylight and exaggerated lies about immigrants who eat pets. However, Harris needs to meet voters where they are, he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It must refute the false narrative of the “border czar” peddled by Trump, but also address the fact that many voters feel there is currently a border crisis without enough being done to stop it.

There is a middle ground that Harris can carve out, clarifying her plans to do more to strengthen America’s borders when she takes the reins while rejecting the hateful rhetoric Trump has spewed.

The task of successfully convincing enough voters that Harris will offer a new approach is key to reducing Trump’s longstanding advantage on issues such as the economy and immigration. And with so much on the line and so little time left, Harris shouldn’t hesitate to explain how he plans to set his own course and change directions.

Now is not the time for sensitivities. It’s time for Democrats to take another page from Pelosi’s playbook. Do what it takes to “just win, baby.”

Stuart Malec is the national policy director at the Progressive Policy Institute.

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