Kamala Harris On The Campaign Trail

The last couple of days for Vice President Kamala Harris have been a whirlwind, but as she takes on her first events as the presumptive Democratic nominee for President it’s clearly emerging that she is delivering a distinct communicative style that leans into some of the salient issues concerning voters like abortion. 

At her first campaign speech in Milwaukee, Harris discussed the issue head-on, saying that as President she would stop “Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans.” Even using the word abortion is a sign that this campaign has shifted. President Biden would often use phrases like “reproductive rights” or a “woman’s right to choose” instead of “abortion.”

Harris’s ability to discuss abortion will be a major asset for Democratic voters. The health policy organization KFF conducted a survey earlier this year that showed Harris has the trust of 82 percent of Democratic women voters to speak on abortion. KFF conducted the survey between May 23 and June 5.

The biggest backers for Harris’s ability to connect on abortion were Democratic women over 65. Among that cohort, 66 percent said they trusted Harris on that topic “a lot” while 27 percent reported they trusted her “some.”

But those trusting numbers fall as Democratic voters get younger. Harris has the most room to grow among Democratic women ages 18 to 29. In that group, only 69 percent trust her “a lot or some.” A full 31 percent of that younger cohort does not trust Harris to be an effective messenger on abortion. With the election just over 100 days away, Harris has time to change that perception. 

According to KFF, thirteen percent of liberal-leaning women cite abortion as their main concern for the November election. Abortion bans, like the ones in Texas, are also broadly unpopular. Banning medication abortion, which accounts for 63 percent of abortions in the United States, is only something that 29 percent of Americans want to see according to the polling group Ipsos. 

Vice President Harris will be in Houston on Thursday as she addresses the national conference for the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest unions in the country.