This is an adapted essay from “MSNBC Live Democracy 2024: The Insiders,” a virtual event featuring Jen Psaki, Steve Kornacki, Michael Steele and Claire McCaskill.
The days before an election are always a time of high anxiety. But as we approach this critical moment for our democracy, it’s important to take a step back, take a deep breath and relax.
So, here are 10 reasons why supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris shouldn’t freak out in these final days:
Number 1: We are more motivated.
Democrats’ enthusiasm has been a continuing trend across the polling. This isn’t always the case, it certainly wasn’t the case in 2016. But ever since President Joe Biden stepped aside and Harris stepped in, we have had more enthusiasm on our side of the aisle.
Number 2: Harris has closed the gap on economic issues.
The vice president started out way behind Donald Trump on key economic questions, like who voters believe is better for the economy and who they believe will look out for them. Those are the kinds of things that drive “feel” voters — people who make up their minds in the last two weeks of the election. That’s a good sign for Harris.
Number 3: We know what we’re doing in the field.
Just think about Trump’s buddy Elon Musk — he’s offering people $100 to sign a petition that says they support the First Amendment. Do you think Democrats signed that petition? I think some did. I think there’s probably a boatload of $100 bills going out to folks who are voting or already voted for Harris.
Musk’s approach isn’t an accurate way to get data to find low-propensity voters. It’s just another example of the billionaire thinking he’s the smartest guy in the world. With no political campaign experience, he thinks he can handle getting people to the polls in a crucial battleground state like Pennsylvania.
But our team actually knows what they’re doing. We’re more experienced. We’ve been building our ground game for over a year. That ground organization is one thing the Biden campaign did well, and Harris inherited it.
The former president’s campaign is geared toward people who think Hulk Hogan pulling off his shirt is important. It’s geared toward white men, bros who listen to Joe Rogan and billionaires like Musk. That’s not very appealing to people like you and me. I believe that will cost them at the ballot box. We’ve already seen the data. Women are showing up. The polls were off in 2022 because nobody expected the Democrats to do as well as they did. Reproductive rights was and still is a driving force for women voters. And anybody who thinks that emotion has gone away when we’re watching women die and when we’re watching women who have troubled pregnancies lose the ability to have children — it’s not going away. It’s more acute, more emotional and more passionately felt by women of America now than ever before. That includes Republican women and women who are married to Trump supporters. And I don’t care if they tell them they’re doing it or not, I guarantee a whole bunch of them are casting their ballots for Harris this election.
Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri. She is currently an MSNBC and NBC News political analyst.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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