Republican pollster Frank Luntz has expressed his amazement at how Vice President Kamala Harris has transformed the Democratic Party’s fortunes since taking over at the top of the presidential ticket.
Luntz said his focus groups signaled Harris was exciting voters previously put off by the race between President Joe Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump, and that undecided voters are now moving in her direction.
“I haven’t seen anything like this happen in 30 days in my lifetime,” Luntz told the hosts of Wednesday’s edition of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” adding that Harris had the “intensity advantage.”
The pollster said he believed Trump had been on course to beat Biden, but that Republicans now risk losing the presidency, the Senate and the House without a change in messaging to combat Harris.
“She’s bringing out people who are not interested in voting for either Trump or Biden, so the entire electoral pool has changed,” says @FrankLuntz of VP Harris. “She’s got an intensity advantage, and I haven’t seen anything like this happen in 30 days in my lifetime.” pic.twitter.com/14YEU4Hhti
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 14, 2024
While polls suggest the race for the White House remains tight, Harris has been closing the gap Trump held in battleground states less than a month after Biden quit and endorsed her.
Luntz said he’s now struggling to recruit younger female voters who still identify as “undecided” into his focus groups, such is the surge in Harris’ popularity.
“There are issues, attributes and the conditions of the country,” Luntz said. “The issues and conditions favor Donald Trump. He should be winning this election. But the attributes are so much in Harris’ favor that he’s not.”
Luntz argued that Trump has “lost control,” as reflected in his attack on workers’ rights during his controversial conversation with Elon Musk, and suggested the former president is “committing political suicide.”
