Chuck Darwin<p>How the lessons of the UK election could help Kamala Harris defeat Donald Trump</p><p>Adopting a <a href="https://c.im/tags/hero" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>hero</span></a>-<a href="https://c.im/tags/voter" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>voter</span></a> approach could make a vital difference, just as it did in the UK.</p><p>The start point is to identify & understand Harris’s <br />⭐️hero voters⭐️ <br />– undecided voters who have considered Trump and live in the handful of most crucial battleground states.</p><p>The context is very different but the parallels are almost uncanny. <br />This group <br />– who in the US self-define as middle class rather than working class as the same group might in the UK <br />– is <a href="https://c.im/tags/struggling" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>struggling</span></a>. <br />Its members believe that the middle class is <a href="https://c.im/tags/in" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>in</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/jeopardy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>jeopardy</span></a>, <br />➡️denied the dream of homeownership that previous generations took for granted, <br />➡️unable to cover the essentials, <br />➡️and hyper-aware of the cost of groceries, utilities and other bills. </p><p>Many work <a href="https://c.im/tags/multiple" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>multiple</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/jobs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>jobs</span></a> just to keep afloat.</p><p>As one Michigan swing voter told us last week: <br />⭐️“There’s less of a ‘legit’ middle class these days. People are just working, working, working – and I think that’s really unfair.” </p><p>Another voter in Pennsylvania said: <br />⭐️“The middle class is being eroded. You used to be able to work one job and buy a house, but those things are out of reach for people like us nowadays.”</p><p>Unsurprisingly, these voters want <a href="https://c.im/tags/change" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>change</span></a> <br />– change that redresses the balance. <br />But they are also deeply insecure and want that change within a framework of <a href="https://c.im/tags/stability" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>stability</span></a>.</p><p>Harris can use this balancing act to her advantage, offering a combination of stability and the change voters crave. </p><p>✅By addressing concerns such as <a href="https://c.im/tags/inflation" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>inflation</span></a> and <a href="https://c.im/tags/homeownership" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>homeownership</span></a> while promising <a href="https://c.im/tags/steady" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>steady</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/progress" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>progress</span></a>, <br />she can present a vision that ✅contrasts with Trump’s record, <br />✅appealing directly to the middle class’s desire for practical, lasting change.</p><p>Like Starmer, Harris has an edge: </p><p>👉she comes from the same background as these voters. </p><p>Her middle-class upbringing and understanding of economic struggle give her a unique connection to working-class Americans. </p><p>She can own this narrative <br />– something that Trump’s rhetoric, despite his populist appeal, can’t match.</p><p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/07/how-lessons-of-uk-election-could-help-kamala-harris-defeat-donald-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/us-news/articl</span><span class="invisible">e/2024/sep/07/how-lessons-of-uk-election-could-help-kamala-harris-defeat-donald-trump?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</span></a></p>