Vice President Kamala Harris’ aggressive effort to woo Republicans and independents dissatisfied with former President Donald Trump has left progressives feeling alienated, a poll released Monday revealed.
Our Revolution, a progressive advocacy group spawned out of the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, found that one out of 10 voters who identify as progressive said they do not intend to vote for Ms. Harris next month.
The group polled 4,623 voters across the country and found that 15%, or one out of seven respondents, said they would not vote for Ms. Harris. Among that group, 13% plan to vote for a different candidate and 2% said they do not plan to vote at all.
The same poll found 10% of progressives living in critical swing states do not plan to vote for Ms. Harris.
Progressive voters told Our Revolution that they are skeptical of Ms. Harris’ outreach to Republicans. In recent days, Ms. Harris has campaigned four times with Republican former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, stumping with her more than any other surrogate.
Progressive voices have been nearly invisible at campaign events as Ms. Harris tries to pitch herself as a centrist to combat Mr. Trump’s allegations that she’s “dangerously liberal.”
In the past month, Ms. Harris has talked more about her ownership of a gun than climate change.
The Harris campaign has repeatedly pushed back on accusations that its courting of Republicans could alienate long-time Democrats. They argue there is room in her tent to appeal to voters across the political spectrum.
The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment from The Washington Times.
While Our Revolution found that progressives are apprehensive of Ms. Harris trying to pitch herself as a centrist, it did not provide an exact number.
Adding to their frustration was that 27% of progressives said they had not received any outreach from the Harris campaign, while 30% reported outreach from the Trump campaign.
However, the poll did question the effectiveness of Ms. Harris’ intense efforts to attract Republicans. The survey found that 3% of those who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 now back Ms. Harris, while 4% of those who voted for President Biden in 2020 have flipped to Mr. Trump.
“Democrats should invest resources in their base, not in court Republicans who aren’t coming over,” said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, in a statement accompanying the poll.
“We’ve seen time and again that it is not a winning strategy to waste precious time chasing GOP endorsements that won’t translate into votes. Our survey and reports from the field tell us that progressives are deeply concerned about the campaign’s focus on appeasing conservatives while ignoring the bread-and-butter issues that matter most to working families,” he said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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