July 30, 2021- 9:00 p.m.
Vice presidents historically do not outperform the leader at the top of the ticket. But her lower ratings haven’t gone unnoticed.
She has also made some tactical missteps outside of the White House that Democrats say show she hasn’t quite yet found her bearings.
In the Economist-YouGov poll, 24 percent of voters surveyed between the ages of 18 and 29 expressed no opinion of the vice president when asked if they view her favorably.
Only 15 percent of respondents in that same age group, meanwhile, had no formed opinion of Biden.
“The reason that Harris is unpopular is that they haven’t been able to make headway against Joe Biden personally, so they really have switched their messaging strategy to focus on Harris and attack him indirectly,” said political analyst Rachel Bitecofer.
“No one is coming out and saying she’s doing an amazing job, because the first question would be ‘On what?'” acknowledged one Harris ally. “She’s made a bunch of mistakes and she’s made herself a story for good and bad.”
Harris has faced blowback in particular over the border, one of two areas, along with voting rights, that are a part of her policy portfolio.
She attracted negative press for comments about asylum-seekers attempting to enter the United States during a trip south of the Mexican border, telling immigrants “don’t come here” during a press conference, which triggered criticism from some progressives.
Some say Harris could be an asset on the ground in a state like Georgia, where Democrats will be fighting to help Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) win a full term in the Senate.
Warnock was elected in a January runoff, defeating former Sen.
Kelly Loeffler (R), a close Trump ally. Harris campaigned twice in the state ahead of the November election.
Georgia is ground zero for the voting rights issue, and Harris traveled to Atlanta late last month to promote anti-voter suppression messaging, as well as to help persuade Georgia residents to get vaccinated amid rising coronavirus cases.
As officials look to plan out travel itineraries for 2022, Democrats like Benenson express confidence that Harris will rise from today’s poll numbers.
They argue that fluctuations are normal for a vice president who is less well-known than the boss.Â
If Democrats buy into the old-school political book and make the same mistakes that they’ve made in the past and try to shelf her, hide her, run away from her, all they’re doing is reasserting the right’s negative frame against her.
She attracted negative press for comments about asylum-seekers attempting to enter the United States during a trip south of the Mexican border, telling immigrants “don’t come here” during a press conference, which triggered criticism from some progressives.
