WASHINGTON — In her first major interview as the Democratic presidential nominee last week, Kamala Harris emphasized her role as a challenger to the current political landscape, referencing the idea of changing leadership.

Harris told CNN anchor Dana Bash that Americans are eager to “turn the page.”

However, she wasn’t suggesting that voters should move beyond her or the Biden administration. Instead, she indicated it’s time to move past Donald Trump — the former president and Republican nominee, who Harris claimed has spent the last decade promoting “an agenda that undermines the character and strength of our nation.”

To maintain her rising poll numbers over recent weeks, Harris has skillfully positioned herself as a candidate advocating for change, even as she remains the incumbent vice president closely aligned with President Joe Biden’s policies.

“We are charting a new way forward,” Harris stated during her acceptance speech last month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a phrase she often uses in her campaign.

Harris has consistently presented herself as the candidate for change, aiming to resonate with key demographic groups such as Black, Latino, and young voters — communities that have shown less support for Biden in the past.

However, the main contradiction in Harris’ campaign is that she is an incumbent vice president promoting a shift from previous policies, which gives Trump an opening as the 2024 election approaches. The Trump campaign is eager to remind voters that issues concerning the economy and immigration arose while Harris worked closely with Biden.

“She’s trying to navigate a complex situation,” noted Matt Grossman, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, adding that Harris must selectively highlight her record as vice president, as many Americans are apprehensive about the country’s direction.

According to Grossman, Harris is managing this strategy effectively, partly because the absence of a competitive Democratic primary has allowed her to cultivate her public persona. Being the first Black and Asian female presidential nominee of a major party provides her with a starkly different image compared to Biden’s.

Nonetheless, the 2024 election is unusual, with Trump being a prominent figure in American politics for nearly ten years, seeking the presidency for the third consecutive time. His extensive media presence and numerous controversies, including four criminal charges and two impeachment processes, have enabled Harris to frame the election as a referendum on Trump’s leadership.

“What might have seemed like a questionable assertion in other circumstances appears reasonable given our prolonged experience in the Trump era,” Grossman remarked.

Trump’s campaign counters with critiques of Kamala Harris

The Trump campaign has branded Harris as “dangerously liberal” and attempted to connect her to Biden’s poor ratings regarding his management of the economy and inflation. A recent Trump ad featured Harris noting “everyday prices are too high,” referring to the rising costs of items like ground beef. It contrasted these statements with her previous claims that “Bidenomics is working.”

Simultaneously, the Harris campaign has been cautious about featuring Biden in their campaign efforts. Harris and Biden made their first joint appearance of the campaign in Pittsburgh with union workers on Monday. However, as vice president, Harris remains connected to Biden, which means she can either gain from the successes or bear the consequences of the administration’s challenges.

“Nothing quite embodies charting ‘a new way forward’ like campaigning alongside Joe Biden on Labor Day as a reminder of how much prices have surged under Bidenomics,”

On Tuesday, Trump campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles shared their thoughts in a memo.

“We anticipate that, through the Trump campaign, numerous citizen journalists, and alternative media, the public will uncover the true record of Kamala Harris,” the memo stated.

However, since Harris took over as the Democratic nominee, Trump has faced challenges in effectively attacking her, despite using several of his signature derogatory nicknames for her, the latest being “Comrade Kamala.”

According to a recent YSL News/Suffolk University poll, Harris is currently ahead of Trump nationally among likely voters by 48% to 43%. The Democratic nominee is overcoming negative views regarding the nation’s state, which typically hinder a sitting candidate’s performance. Only 31% of respondents believe the country is headed in the right direction, in contrast to 58% who feel it is off course.

Voters appear more forgiving towards Harris regarding economic issues compared to Biden. The YSL News/Suffolk University poll revealed that although more voters believe Trump would handle the economy better than Harris, the margin is tighter at 51%-45%, compared to July’s 54%-40% advantage Trump had over Biden.

For over a year, polls showed that voters were largely dissatisfied with Biden and Trump, paving the way for Harris to position herself as a fresh alternative when she quickly became the Democratic nominee.

Harris’ image as a candidate representing change is bolstered by the historic significance of her run for the White House. If elected, she would be the first woman to hold the presidency and is already the first woman of color to be a major party nominee. At 59, she is younger than the 78-year-old Trump. During the DNC in Chicago, she shared her background as the daughter of middle-class immigrants from Jamaica and India.

“She presents herself differently compared to someone who fits the traditional vice-presidential mold,” pointed out Amy Walter, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report. “Her identity as a woman of color, along with her relative youth, makes her stand out as a figure representing genuine change.”

Does Harris Need to Distinguish Herself More from Biden on Policies?

The central message of Harris’s campaign, encapsulated in her phrase “We’re not going back,” is designed to position her as a fresh alternative to Trump’s older politics. It mirrors the themes of “change” and “hope” famously championed by former President Barack Obama in 2008, following voter fatigue with George W. Bush.

Harris is expected to leverage her upcoming televised debate with Trump on Tuesday to further emphasize her vision of change.

To highlight the contrast, the Harris campaign has sought to link Trump to Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation that outlines a list of controversial goals for a potential second Trump term, including abolishing the Department of Education, restricting access to abortion pills, reforming the FBI, and reinstating an executive order that would allow the president to replace civil servants with political appointees throughout the federal government.

Despite over 100 former Trump administration officials contributing to its creation, Trump has attempted to distance himself from Project 2025.

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville noted in a New York Times op-ed this week that in each election since the 1990s without a popular incumbent, like the current one, it essentially becomes a “change election.”

“Bill Clinton won in 1992 by promoting change versus the status quo, Barack Obama triumphed in 2008 with a message of hope, and even Trump squeaked by in 2016 on promises to revive an outdated notion of America. In 2024, success will belong to the candidate seen as new versus the one regarded as stale,” said Carville. “It really boils down to: The shepherd of tomorrow wins over the flock.”

Carville indicated that for Harris to be seen as the “fresh candidate” come November, she needs to “clearly break away from Biden on specific policy priorities that she believes would define her presidency.”

Harris took a step in this direction on Wednesday by proposing a smaller increase to the capital-gains tax rate compared to Biden’s plan. However, she has mostly aligned herself with Biden’s economic policies and domestic priorities thus far. Her new proposals also include a federal ban on price-gouging at grocery stores and offering $25,000 for down payments to first-time homebuyers.

Additionally, there is a revival of tax credits from the COVID-19 period aimed at families with young children.

David Cohen, a political science professor at the University of Akron, commented on the difficulty for Harris to maintain her narrative for change throughout the campaign, noting that she has served as vice president for the last three and a half years.

Cohen stated that Harris is hesitant to renounce what she considers achievements of the Biden-Harris administration.

“However, I think framing it this way resonates well, as people are growing weary of the divisiveness since 2015,” he added.

Connect with Joey Garrison on X, previously known as Twitter, @joeygarrison.