Memo to the Harris Campaign: You need to do more. Here are three ideas.
Run at Trump’s strengths and start winning news cycles.
1. Message of the Day
If the election were held today, Kamala Harris would have, at best, a 50-50 chance of beating Donald Trump.
That’s not good enough.
Last night Harris sat down for her first solo interview and she was fine.
Also not good enough.
Do you know what Kamala Harris did for the five weeks between Biden stepping aside and the conclusion of the Democratic National Committee?
She won every news cycle. She drove the story. She was the story. She and her campaign did such a good job that we still remember a bunch of those wins:
Her speech to campaign HQ in Delaware.
Her first big rally in Wisconsin.
The announcement of her massive fundraising totals.
The grassroots Zoom calls which turned into mega-organization drives.
The Megan Thee Stallion arena showcase in Atlanta.
The VP auditions.
The selection of Tim Walz.
The perfectly choreographed convention.
Her very good acceptance speech.
Since the end of the convention the campaign’s pace has slowed. They diverted time to prep for the debate—which paid off. They won both the debate and the news cycles immediately after the debate.
But the campaign needs to do more. Here are three slam dunks.
(1) Call on Mark Robinson to resign as lieutenant governor in North Carolina.
One of the wild aspects of the Robinson story is that, because everyone knows that Robinson is crazy, no one has bothered suggesting that he resign his office.
Harris should issue a public call for his resignation anyway.
Here’s what happens if Harris speaks out and makes an issue out of Robinson’s ability to serve as lieutenant governor:
It pulls national attention to North Carolina and the single most unattractive Republican candidate on the ballot this cycle.
It allows Harris to highlight the many positive things Trump has said about Robinson.
It forces Robinson to respond with a refusal to resign, extending the story to the next day.
It prompts a third-day story in which Trump is asked whether or not he thinks Robinson should resign.
All of these dynamics favor Harris.
And if Harris wants to appeal to swing voters, she can couple her call for Robinson’s resignation with a call for Eric Adams to resign in New York, too. Show people that her standards aren’t partisan.