How the lessons of the UK election could help Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump
Adopting a #hero-#voter approach could make a vital difference, just as it did in the UK.
The start point is to identify & understand Harris’s
️hero voters
️
– undecided voters who have considered Trump and live in the handful of most crucial battleground states.
The context is very different but the parallels are almost uncanny.
This group
– who in the US self-define as middle class rather than working class as the same group might in the UK
– is #struggling.
Its members believe that the middle class is #in #jeopardy,
denied the dream of homeownership that previous generations took for granted,
unable to cover the essentials,
and hyper-aware of the cost of groceries, utilities and other bills.
Many work #multiple #jobs just to keep afloat.
As one Michigan swing voter told us last week:
️“There’s less of a ‘legit’ middle class these days. People are just working, working, working – and I think that’s really unfair.”
Another voter in Pennsylvania said:
️“The middle class is being eroded. You used to be able to work one job and buy a house, but those things are out of reach for people like us nowadays.”
Unsurprisingly, these voters want #change
– change that redresses the balance.
But they are also deeply insecure and want that change within a framework of #stability.
Harris can use this balancing act to her advantage, offering a combination of stability and the change voters crave.
By addressing concerns such as #inflation and #homeownership while promising #steady #progress,
she can present a vision that
contrasts with Trump’s record,
appealing directly to the middle class’s desire for practical, lasting change.
Like Starmer, Harris has an edge:
she comes from the same background as these voters.
Her middle-class upbringing and understanding of economic struggle give her a unique connection to working-class Americans.
She can own this narrative
– something that Trump’s rhetoric, despite his populist appeal, can’t match.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/07/how-lessons-of-uk-election-could-help-kamala-harris-defeat-donald-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other