“By choosing Tim Waltz as her running mate, Kamala Harris hopes to get closer to the people”

Jean-Éric Branaa is a lecturer at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an expert on the United States. Kamala Harris: America’s Future (New World, 2021) and America’s Geopolitics (PUF, 2022).

Figarovos. – On Tuesday, August 6, Kamala Harris announced the name of her running mate for the presidential election: Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz. By making this choice, what message does Kamala Harris want to send to American voters?

Jean-Eric Branagh. – With this choice, Kamala Harris balances her image in the country. She is a mixed-race woman from California who has always been involved in politics and, like Nancy Pelosi, comes from the “San Francisco School”. Therefore, this candidate represents the elite class that is generally despised by ordinary Americans. Tim Waltz is just the opposite. He comes from a rural background and has a simple character. For example, he said that he finishes his work day at 5 pm, goes home, and eats dinner in front of the TV. Such a daily routine corresponds to the lives of many Americans. He rose step by step from his village to become a teacher, thus devoting himself to serving others. In this sense, the Harris-Waltz couple came together. In 2020, she named her campaign “For people» and said he wanted:Campaign to solve the problem of people being woken up in the middle of the nightBy choosing Tim Waltz, she wanted to get closer to them.

Minnesota, where Tim Waltz is governor, is a “swing state,” which means it’s a “pivot” state. Does Kamala Harris hope to win votes there?

Even though Donald Trump always believed he could win the state, especially through the increased number of meetings during the previous campaign, Minnesota has tilted more toward the Democratic Party. This tilt was confirmed the day after the Supreme Court suppressed the constitutional right to abortion. If Minnesota does not pose a real danger Tim Waltz’s nomination Lock it up. Instead, efforts should be focused on Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. The Harris-Waltzes hope to restore the vote there. In this regard, Tim Waltz represents an asset: He knows the unions very well, which is useful in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. For Georgia and Arizona, the situation is different.

The vice president has had some success in the polls since Joe Biden dropped out. Can Kamalamania last?

Joe Biden drops out of presidential race Some Democrats are relieved. The failed debate of the US President with Donald Trump sparked a spark in some of them. The disastrous campaign brought a great victory to Donald Trump: the former president himself guaranteed that he would deliver a “massacre” on Election Day in November. The arrival of Kamala Harris made them believe in victory again. “Kamala Crazy” is based on this new hope.

However, if the vice president makes up for the lag that Joe Biden has accumulated in the polls, She still hasn’t closed the gap with Donald Trump. In fact, it’s still within the margin of error. The frenzy surrounding Kamala Harris may fade, and Donald Trump can still run a good campaign between now and the vote. The US presidential race is far from over.

The American electorate is not volatile or even mostly fixed, and the outcome of the vote will depend on the choices of those who have not yet made up their minds.

Jean Eric Branagh

In response, the Republican camp described Kamala Harris’s vice president as “Dangerous left-wing extremists ”. Can Donald Trump win the election by maintaining an outrageous posture? Should his strategy evolve?

Donald Trump can’t win an election by maintaining this posture. The campaign violence, after the assassination attempt and the Republican convention, is too much for Americans to bear. The former president understands this and reaches out to the center, working for national unity, not just Republican unity. Gold Kamala Harris’s arrival puts him back on trackand forced him to close the camp. However, this strategy cannot last. He must present strong proposals to attract voters and invite them to vote. Abstention is the biggest danger facing Donald Trump. It’s all a question of enthusiasm. The Democratic camp may also be worried about voter abstention. At first glance, young people, women and minorities were not attracted to the presidential campaign. Now the effect is the opposite.

Polls only shift on both sides as news breaks. What is this election based on? Are American voters particularly volatile?

The activity is mainly based on economics. Joe Biden’s economic record is not good for the Democratic field Donald Trump will try to blame Kamala Harris for this. Inflation, unemployment, debt and interest rates are, in fact, still high. This mixed record could push citizens to vote for the former president: rightly or not, many Americans feel richer under Trump. The campaign is also based on social issues that Kamala Harris addresses, such as the question of freedom to control one’s own body. This is a good strategy: women are concerned about this issue, both Republicans and Democrats. Minorities also have renewed hopes for civil rights, an issue that Kamala Harris has also long raised. The campaign will ultimately focus on immigration, a theme that the Republicans have raised. Especially since Kamala Harris is in charge of this file as Vice President.

The American electorate is not volatile or even largely fixed, and the outcome of the vote will depend on the choices of those who have not yet made up their minds. However, in general we already know that Each state’s vote. One question remains unanswered: Donald Trump’s age. Before Kamala Harris arrived, the American people wanted neither Joe Biden nor Trump, and age was a factor. The Democratic candidate has not used this cartridge yet.