WASHINGTON — With growing momentum from her recent campaign launch, Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. This event offers her a chance to reintroduce herself to uncertain voters and challenge Donald Trump as the election approaches in less than three months.

Unlike any recent major party candidate, many voters are unfamiliar with Harris’ background, as she accepted the Democratic nomination without securing any primary votes or facing a lengthy campaign.

In her effort to define who she is and her values, Harris is expected to use the convention to share her personal journey, highlighting her roots as the daughter of immigrants and her early job at McDonald’s during her college years. Meanwhile, Republicans criticize her as excessively liberal and inexperienced.

The convention’s timing, set one week after the Olympic games conclude, plays to Harris’ advantage, allowing her to capitalize on the enthusiasm she has generated among Democratic supporters and showcase it to the nightly primetime audience.

To maintain her momentum, however, Harris will need to deliver a compelling message that resonates with a wide audience, unlike Trump during the Republican National Convention, who struggled to connect beyond party loyalists.

“She needs to articulate what her vision is and how she’s going to improve people’s lives,” stated Todd Belt, a political management professor at George Washington University. “It’s crucial for her to be effectively introduced to the American public.”

Since announcing her candidacy shortly after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race on July 21, Harris has quickly diminished Trump’s polling advantage in key states. She has drawn large crowds to her events, far surpassing Biden’s more subdued campaign gatherings, and has raised significant campaign funds.

In less than a month, Harris has transformed the race, leading some Republicans to advise Trump to focus on economic issues rather than crowd sizes or disparaging remarks about Harris.

However, Harris and her newly appointed running mate, Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, must show that the excitement generated over these past few weeks can be sustained for the 78 days remaining until Election Day. This entails keeping undecided voters who have shifted toward her while countering Trump’s efforts to label her as “dangerously liberal.” While strategists question if she can achieve a significant post-convention bounce, there are still important gains to be made.

“She has already seen a ‘convention bounce’ before the actual convention, and her current objective should be to secure those new supporters,” remarked experienced Republican pollster Frank Luntz, referencing young women and Hispanic voters who have shown increased support for her.

Luntz emphasized the need for Harris to convey a unifying message for all Americans, similar to former state Sen. Barack Obama’s renowned keynote address at the 2004 convention. “Avoid partisan, ideological, gender, or race-based politics,” he advised. “Focus on reaching all of America, not just segmented groups.”

“Democrats should leverage this convention not only to campaign for the presidency but also for Congress. There’s a real chance they could secure control of the House, Senate, and presidency, and the convention’s messaging, if not centered solely on Harris, could enhance that opportunity.”

‘A chance to reach beyond the Democratic base’

Harris’ recent speeches and advertising strategies have begun to reveal her approach for presenting herself at the convention. Her campaign depicts the 59-year-old Harris as a bold advocate for everyday Americans, noting her record as a prosecutor in San Francisco who dealt with violent criminals, her efforts against large banks as California’s attorney general, and her challenges to major pharmaceutical companies as vice president.

“In Chicago, Vice President Harris will utilize this platform to share her narrative with the nation, present the Harris-Walz vision for the future, and expand our diverse coalition to defeat Donald Trump,” stated Emily Soong, press secretary for the DNC Convention.

A campaign official revealed the convention will emphasize its core message: it’s “about you” versus Trump’s self-interest.

Harris will likely face significant protests during the convention, aimed at the Biden administration’s backing of Israel’s actions in Gaza. The future looks challenging for Harris, especially since she has not conducted a televised interview or held a press conference since being named the Democratic nominee.

Harris’s current popularity seems more tied to her role as a fresh face on the ticket than to her policy positions. She has crafted her campaign around a positive vision, asserting, “We’re not going back,” which counters Trump’s long-standing “Make America Great Again” slogan. With her self-described “joyful warrior” approach, Harris’s campaign aims to convey hope and positivity, contrasting with Trump’s narrative portraying the U.S. as troubled under Biden and Harris.

A month ago, Trump entered the Republican National Convention with favorable polling and the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt that energized his base.

Yet, after vowing to promote unity, Trump ended the RNC Convention by delivering a speech that focused on his supporters, targeting figures like “crazy Nancy” Pelosi and blaming adversaries for his legal troubles.

“A month ago, their confidence was justified,” Walter noted. “Things were looking very promising for them. Harris’s campaign should focus on appealing to a broader audience instead of just her immediate Democratic supporters.”

Walter emphasized the importance for Harris to reach out to voters who feel caught between their worries about inflation and their negative feelings towards Trump.

Harris labels her campaign as the ‘underdog,’ but polls tell a different story.

As she prepares for her Thursday speech at the convention, Harris will embark on a bus tour with Walz in western Pennsylvania on Sunday, followed by a rally on Tuesday in Milwaukee, the same location where the RNC Convention was held.

Throughout a recent campaign tour in key states with Walz, Harris consistently described her campaign as “the underdog” in the race against Trump.

However, a recent Cook Political Report survey of seven crucial battleground states found Harris leading in key regions like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Arizona, while she is tied with Trump in Georgia, with Trump only ahead in Nevada. In a previous poll conducted in May, Trump was leading Biden in six of those states.

Harris is re-establishing Biden’s winning coalition from 2020. The survey revealed that she has secured 91% of the voters who supported Biden in the last election, a significant increase from 82% who expressed support for Biden in May.

Among independent voters in the seven battleground states, Harris outperforms Trump, leading 48% to 40%. Previously, Trump led Biden among independents 41%-38%. Notably, Harris also commands a significant lead among “double hater” voters—those who do not favor either Biden or Trump—by 30 percentage points, 54% to 24%, whereas Trump previously led this demographic as well.

Walter mentioned that voters seem more forgiving toward Harris, not holding her responsible for their economic concerns as much as they do for Biden. Harris trails Trump by only five points, 50%-45%, on who voters trust more regarding economic management; this compares favorably to Biden, who lagged 11 points behind Trump.

Nonetheless, there are still vulnerabilities for Trump to exploit. Even with inflation decreasing, 57% of those surveyed believe it is worsening, and voters generally prefer Trump when it comes to handling immigration issues.

According to recent polling data, 53% of voters in key battleground states view Harris as “too liberal,” while 52% believe she is “too inexperienced.”

At the same time, 57% of likely voters expressed concerns that Trump is “too erratic and out of control” to hold office, with 59% stating that another Trump presidency would likely be excessively focused on revenge tactics. Additionally, 57% of respondents felt his administration would push “extreme policies.”

Greg Strimple, a pollster from the Republican-affiliated GS Strategy Group, which collaborated with the Democratic firm BSG for this poll, remarked, “This election has shifted away from being solely about Biden’s age and the economy to now being a validation of Trump and his temperament.” He also pointed out that even though “Donald Trump is currently struggling,” his campaign advertisements are aligning with his message.

Strimple further noted, “If Trump highlights Harris’s perceived liberalism, lack of experience, and continuity with Biden’s policies on the economy, inflation, and immigration, he could find a way back into the race.” He cautioned against the notion that the election is already decided and mentioned that there is still a pathway for Trump, though it’s uncertain if he can seize that opportunity.

Trump on Harris: ‘People don’t know who she is’

In an effort to steer the conversation back to economic issues, Trump held a press conference surrounded by various grocery items like cereal and condiments, emphasizing their rising costs amid ongoing inflation challenges.

Trump commented, “People don’t know who she is,” referring to Harris. “You don’t need to guess what a Kamala Harris presidency would look like because you’re currently experiencing that nightmare.”

However, Trump occasionally strayed from his main talking points, asserting that Harris “doesn’t love our country,” claiming he has “the right to make personal attacks” against her, and expressing a lack of “respect for her intelligence.”

Trump concluded by stating, “This race is unlike any other. Our main goal is to label our opponent as a communist, socialist, or someone bent on ruining our nation.”

Meanwhile, Harris is treading a careful path at this week’s convention, aiming to honor Biden, who will speak on Monday night, while also establishing her own initiatives and distancing herself from the low approval ratings Biden has received for his handling of economic issues and inflation.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre remarked that Biden and Harris have been closely aligned over the past three and a half years, stating, “There has been no separation between them.”

To showcase their unity, Biden and Harris made their first joint appearance since Biden withdrew from the election on Thursday. Harris expressed her gratitude towards “our extraordinary president, Joe Biden” at an event in Largo, Maryland, where they highlighted their efforts to reduce prescription drug prices. The supportive crowd responded with chants of “Thank you, Joe!”

Biden praised Harris, saying, “I have an incredible partner, and the progress we’ve made shows she’s destined to be an excellent president.”