A two-day swing through Detroit and its suburbs marks a stretch for the Harris campaign to showcase her general election appeal -- and separate her from former Vice President Joe Biden -- fueled by renewed energy after her viral questioning of Attorney General William Barr in the Senate committee hearing.
A Harris campaign aide says that beginning tonight with a speech to the Detroit branch of the NAACP, the largest branch of the civil rights group in the country, Harris will directly confront "electability." Harris will argue the path for Democrats winning back the Midwest is not by focusing on just Trump voters, but the women and voters of color who turned out in 2018.
In the Sunday night speech, Harris will argue that "electability" is meant to put Americans in simplistic boxes. The campaign aide says Harris will say suggesting voters will only vote for certain candidates based on gender or race is "insulting and wrong."
The latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS after Biden's announcement showed him with a commanding lead over the field, with 39% of Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents saying he is their top choice for the nomination, across gender and race. The same poll showed Harris at 5% but leading the field at 23% among those polled who they'd most like to hear about.
Harris, marking a new level of confrontation with Trump, will also say directly in her speech that Trump has turned "a blind eye to white supremacist terrorism," says the aide. She will cite the Poway and Tree of Life shootings and the series of church burnings in Louisiana as "acts of terrorism." She will say the US is in need of a President "who understands that" and, under a Harris administration, the mobilization of a Justice Department to counter extremism.
On Monday, Harris will veer into Detroit's majority-white suburbs, with a stop at a Dearborn, Michigan, public school. She will also hold a town hall with teachers, back in Detroit. With educators, the campaign aide says Harris will highlight her teacher pay proposal. Her plan would bump teacher pay on average by $13,500 per teacher to close the wage gap between teachers and other similar professions.
The Michigan swing showcases the Harris campaign strategy for her path to the nomination and beyond -- holding the 2016 Hillary Clinton voters and energizing suburban women and African-American voters.
The campaign aide says Harris' Michigan swing focuses on how Democrats' electoral viability in 2020 lies with voters of color and women.
The Census Bureau's Voting and Registration estimates show nationally, black voters did drop in 2016 as compared to 2012, by 690,000, a statistically significant national shift. In Michigan, the number dipped by 11,000. Given the margin of error in the Census data, at least in Michigan, that is not a statistically meaningful change. But the national number is statistically significant.
Throughout her campaign, Harris has leaned into the black vote, making frequent stops at historically black colleges and universities, from Texas to South Carolina. And her teacher pay plan points out women are the majority of public school teachers.
The campaign aide says after Harris' questioning of Barr during this week's hearing, fundraising was "doing well," characterizing it as a "Barr bump" and reminding Democrats how tough Harris would be in a match up against Trump.
This swing, says the aide, will further remind Democrats that "Harris is the best candidate to defeat Trump in key swing states, including Michigan."
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