Why Harris and Trump supporters are optimistic about the presidential race
Vice President Kamala Harris became the first Black and South Asian female presidential nominee after accepting the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink spoke with both Democratic nominee for Congress Julie Johnson and long-time State Sen. Royce West about Harris' policies on the economy and reproductive rights. Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare sat down with Jack to explain why he believes former President Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz will not only win Texas, but Tarrant County as well.
Jack covers these stories and more in the latest episode of Eye on Politics (original air date: Aug. 25, 2024).
Democrats lay out vision
In a moment that Democrats say energized them, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party's nomination for president Thursday night. She laid out her vision for the next four years and said she wants to move past the divisiveness and unite the country.
"I know there are people of various political views watching tonight," Harris said during her address. "I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold fundamentals from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power."
She also advocated for reproductive rights and for lowering costs for food, medicine and housing for Americans. Inflation rose to record levels two years ago, during the Biden-Harris administration. While it's now subsided, polls show a majority of Americans are still unhappy with the high prices.
The night before Harris accepted the nomination, her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz introduced himself to voters. The two-term governor has been praised by Democrats and criticized by Republicans for the progressive agenda he passed last year: providing income for lower-income families, including those who are in the U.S. illegally, protecting transgender patients seeking gender-affirming care and their doctors, and raising capital gains taxes on the wealthy.
Before being elected governor, he was a congressman, who got into politics after teaching and coaching high school football.
The Democratic National Convention began last Monday with President Biden symbolically passing the political torch to Vice President Harris — one month after he announced he would not run for reelection. President Biden said democracy was on the line in 2020, and is again this November.
Jack spoke with Texas House member and Democratic nominee for the 32nd Congressional District Julie Johnson about Harris' speech and the issues resonating with Democrats. Watch their conversation below.
Jack also spoke with longtime State Sen. Royce West of Dallas, who was among the delegates to the convention. Watch that interview below.
Trump, Vance hammer Harris, Walz on campaign trail
Former President Trump and his running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance spent the past week campaigning in battleground states. They continued to hammer Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz on security and inflation.
"This November, Americans are going to tell Kamala Harris that we've had enough," Trump said at a rally Wednesday. "We can't take it anymore. You're doing a terrible job, comrade Harris. You're fired."
On Friday, Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race and endorsed former President Trump. Some analysts say this could help Trump — especially because the polls show such a tight race.
The Real Clear Politics average of polls show the presidential race continues to tighten, even from last week:
- In Arizona, Trump now leads by 0.2 percentage points.
- In Nevada, Trump is ahead by 1.4 percentage points.
- Trump leads by one percentage point in Georgia.
- In Wisconsin, Harris leads by one percentage point.
- In Michigan, Harris has the biggest lead — two percentage points.
- In Pennsylvania, Trump is ahead by 0.2 percentage points.
All of these battleground states are within the margin of error.
Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare spoke with Jack last week about why he's feeling optimistic about the Trump-Vance ticket. Watch that interview below.
