Michigan Republicans are trying to capitalize on Vice President Kamala Harris’ difficulties with the state’s blue-collar workers, a demographic that traditionally supports Democrats but is trending in the direction of former President Donald Trump.
“Michigan’s working class is not fooled by Kamala Harris’ word salad and dog and pony shows. Her policies, like the radical Green New Deal, are anti-worker,” said Victoria LaCivita, director of the communications from the Trump Michigan team, at Fox News Digital. “His attack on American energy has made the cost of living unaffordable, and his plan to ban gas-powered cars will decimate the backbone of our economy.”
The comments come as the race to win Michigan, a vital swing state for the upcoming election, heats up, with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Harris with just a slim 0.5 point lead in the state with a just under four weeks before the election. election.
Republicans have hit the state several times in recent weeks, with Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, making several appearances in the state.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
The appearances come as Michigan Democrats begin to worry about the vice president’s prospects in the state, with some imploring her to visit the state more frequently as the race enters the home stretch.
Prominent Michigan Democrats, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have appealed to the Harris campaign to focus more on the state as the end approaches, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. elections. They also warned Harris to sharpen her economic message, the report notes, with concerns that Trump was doing a good job of courting the state’s working-class voters.
Harris has struggled to distance herself from past positions that remain unpopular in the so-called “Blue Wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, including her past support for a complete transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
Those concerns were also highlighted by an internal poll shared with The Wall Street Journal and conducted by Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s campaign, which showed Harris losing by three points in Wisconsin, another key Midwestern state with voting habits similar to those in Michigan.
“The biggest thing is people don’t know her, they need to see more of her,” former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, a Democrat, told the Wall Street Journal.
Democratic presidential vice president Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Republicans believe it’s because Harris failed to appeal to the types of workers who have now begun to turn to Trump.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital that Harris’ message doesn’t “resonate with working-class voters” like those in the upper Midwest, which could also help Republicans to vote down in critical states.
Harris’ struggles have also extended to union members, a group that has long been a Democratic stronghold in the state. However, an internal poll conducted by the Teamsters, one of the nation’s largest and most influential unions, found that Michigan members preferred Trump (61.7%) to Harris (35.2%), while that national union leaders refused to give their support in this year’s presidential election. race, despite supporting President Biden’s 2020 campaign.
Harris also failed to gain support from the International Association of Firefighters, which also supported Biden in 2020, although she did gain support from both the United Auto Workers and the International Union service employees.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speaks on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“The Teamsters’ own poll shows exactly what we knew: that Michigan’s rank-and-file Teamsters support President Trump and his pro-worker policies,” LaCivita said. “While local chapter leaders refuse to disrupt the status quo, the Michiganders who make up these chapters want strong leadership that will protect their jobs, reduce inflation and support America’s industries – and that’s President Donald J .Trump.”
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
