There is no happiness for Devon Howard.
The optimistic presentations of Vice President Kamala Harris are completely irrelevant to Mr. Howard, a 25-year-old airport mechanic. And he doesn’t think either candidate can turn around a nation that’s clearly going downhill, in his opinion. Mr. Howard shares the frustration of many Las Vegas voters: his wage isn’t going far enough to cover his normal expenses like gas and rent.
“I simply dislike their approach, urging us to have optimism when circumstances are dire,” Mr. Howard expressed as he warmed up for a softball game in East Las Vegas. Individuals like them aren’t interested in assisting those of us who are in a similar situation. Nothing seems to be changing, and we keep hearing the same promises.
Mr. Howard is still undecided about voting or even whether he will cast a ballot. Even though he supported Trump in 2020, he is becoming increasingly frustrated with the divisions that have emerged in the country due to his presidency and is equally unimpressed by Harris. The constant barrage of political news is something he and his friends do their best to ignore.
Millions of Americans share his pessimism about the state of the economy, national policy, and their own financial situation. In the seven states that will be considered “battlegrounds” in the 2024 election, these are the voters that are considered to be either indecisive or receptive to other arguments.
Despite the fact that the economy has steadied, many voters have expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that they are still experiencing much higher prices compared to before.
Many Democrats who were dissatisfied with President Biden are returning to the Democratic Party, which helped boost Ms. Harris’s candidacy. However, many others who are still on the fence about her continue to view her with skepticism. The economy is the most important issue to these voters, according to the polls. Not only are they more gloomy regarding the future of the country, but their earnings are lower than the average voter. They only care about making sales. Candidates’ responses to the question “what will you do for me?” rank highest on their list of priorities.
Differing Obstacles
This voting bloc, which includes almost three million people across seven states, has changed their loyalties. While they leant somewhat toward Ms. Harris in battleground-state polls conducted by The New York Times and Siena College in late August, they have shifted their support to Mr. Trump in more recent national polls conducted by the same organizations.
The fate of these voters is in the balance, thus both camps are focusing their media efforts on winning them over.
More than twenty-five interviews with voters in four of the seven crucial battleground states (North Carolina, Nevada, Georgia, and Wisconsin) reveal that Mr. Trump’s polarizing personality is still his biggest problem with this demographic, while Ms. Harris needs to convince them that she can bring down their housing costs.
Although abortion and immigration are strong issues for both the Democratic and Republican bases, those who are open to being persuaded are half as likely to say that these issues influenced their vote. They also don’t care about the standard Democratic lines of attack against Mr. Trump’s harsh rhetoric and criminal trials.
Because of the pandemic, casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Mr. Howard resides, were closed for over three months, which devastated the area’s economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism. The effects spread to other sectors, and the economy continued to struggle even during Biden’s presidency.
Voters like Mr. Howard are starting to hear Ms. Harris address their economic concerns. A number of her policies, she claims, would reduce expenses, and she has already publicized them. The phrase “a new way forward” does not reflect her political beliefs, nevertheless. Up until this point, she has not taken any significant steps to differentiate herself from Mr. Biden. Voters felt that her promised change was more about feelings than concrete policies.
Attempts are being made by Mr. Trump and his associates to undermine her in what the Democrats have portrayed as an upbeat campaign. Through advertisements and internet videos, they have sought to exploit Ms. Harris’s laughter in order to depict her as unprofessional. According to their assessment, Ms. Harris’s message may clash with the sentiment of the voters she needs.
At his latest event in Las Vegas, Mr. Trump made fun of Ms. Harris for appealing to joy, drawing a comparison to his own strategy.
Every household will prosper, and we will have daily elation (whatever they call it). According to what Mr. Trump said. Opportunity and hope are alternatives; I will refrain from using that word, if that is okay with you. We’re going to have a lot of drive.
As Ms. Harris sees it, the race is between her and an old, evil act, and she is the antithesis of him. The enthusiasm of her Democratic backers is palpable at her rallies and contributes significantly to the positive atmosphere around her campaign. Democrats who had lost trust in Joe Biden have openly expressed their relief and happiness through Ms. Harris.
