Ohio Sen. JD Vance was left red-faced after listening to audio from a recent fundraiser in which he admitted that Kamala Harris’ entry into the race was a “low blow” to the GOP ticket.
Vance, 39, former President Donald Trump’s pick for vice president, was speaking to donors during an event in Minnesota on July 27 when he made the comments, according to reports. The Washington Post.
“We’ve all taken a bit of a political hit. The bad news is that Kamala Harris doesn’t have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because, whatever we say, Kamala is much younger,” said the former “Never-Trumper.”
“And Kamala Harris is obviously not going through the same problems as Joe Biden.”
This embarrassing development for the Trump campaign comes in the wake of a new survey by the nonprofit Angus Reid Institute shows Harris has a two-point lead over the Republican candidate.
Meanwhile, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, Harris’s popularity rating among Americans reached 43 percent in late July. That’s a sharp increase from the 35 percent she held before Biden dropped out of the race.
Publicly, JD Vance has been optimistic about the possibility of Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
New poll gives Harris an extremely narrow lead over Donald Trump
Publicly, Vance has been optimistic, arguing that Harris’s entry into the race following President Joe Biden’s surprise announcement that he would not run did not affect Republicans’ “political calculus.”
Vance’s representatives have been targeting Harris’ record on the border, support for police funding and fracking.
“We have a unique opportunity, but also a unique challenge, because, let’s be honest, 10 days ago, the two candidates who were running for president, everybody had an opinion about them,” Vance told supporters.
“Love them or hate them, everyone has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the last eight years… but when it comes to Kamala Harris, people don’t really know.”
Angus Reid poll shows a much more diverse and younger vote for Harris.
A whopping 56 percent of nonwhite voters say they favor the former California senator, compared with 25 percent who favor Trump.
In terms of the youth vote, 50 percent of Harris’s potential voters are under 35, compared to 32 percent for Trump.
The couple is tied among voters aged 35 to 54.
Unsurprisingly, Trump is the favorite among white voters, 51 percent to 37 percent, and among older voters, 49 percent to 40 percent.
Responding to the Washington Post report, a Vance spokesperson called Harris “weak” and “failed” while promoting a “dangerously liberal agenda.”
“His far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden’s, particularly in the key states that will decide this election, like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin,” said Will Martin.
This week it emerged that Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the likely Democratic presidential nominee last week.
It also emerged this week that Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee last week, a stunning figure in her race against the Republican nominee.
The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising totals on Sunday, said the bulk of the donations — 66 percent — came from first-time contributors in the 2024 election cycle and came after Biden’s decision not to run.
More than 170,000 volunteers have signed up to help Harris’ campaign with phone calls, canvassing and other get-out-the-vote efforts. There are 100 days until Election Day.
“Vice President Harris’ momentum and energy are real, and so are the fundamentals of this race: This election will be very close and will be decided by a small number of voters in just a few states,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director, wrote in a memo.
Her campaign said it held about 2,300 organizing events in battleground states this weekend, as several high-profile Democrats who were being considered to serve as Harris’ running mates campaigned for her.
Harris campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, drawing hundreds of people to a fundraiser that had been organized when Biden was still leading the Democratic ticket.
The fundraiser was originally expected to raise $400,000 but ended up raising about $1.4 million, according to the campaign.
Mandy Robbins, 45, of Decatur, Georgia, drove to one such organizing event Sunday in the northern suburbs of Atlanta to hear from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential Harris running mate.
She thought Biden did a “great job” in the White House, but acknowledged she “wouldn’t have been as excited” if he had stayed in the race.
“Now I finally have hope,” Robbins said, adding: “We can win this with Harris.”