LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After four days of celebration, and in what was a coronation in Chicago, the Democratic National Convention is over and Vice President Kamala Harris is the presidential nominee. Their convention was a star-studded event featuring a mix of some of the biggest names in politics, sports and the entertainment industry throwing their support behind the Harris/Tim Walz ticket.
“Harris and that team pulled it off, and they pulled it off wonderfully in terms of the orchestration of the event,” said University of Kentucky Political Science Professor Stephen Voss. “Harris had a few slow moments, but on balance it was a great speech and delivered very well,” he said.
Voss has become adept at analyzing political races on every level, and he’s not one to overreact to a poll, or an initial wave of enthusiasm, which is what we’re seeing now with this ticket since Harris became the presumptive nominee last month.
“We will likely see a Democratic boost (in the polls), which happens after conventions, but can they hold on after the bounce,” Voss said.
Time will tell, and with 74 days until Election Day a lot can happen, and for Dr. Voss, a lot will have to happen once the euphoria begins to taper off a bit.
“Voters to try to vote on policy” he stated. “Now Harris and Walz are going to have to defend bills they’ve signed, or defend bills they’ve supported, or policy they’ve supported, so a more substantive campaign is coming,” he predicted of the next two and a half months.
Voss added that he thinks Governor Tim Walz was a strong choice for the vice presidency.
“Walz has been a very good as a wingman. Very good at not playing himself up and shines Vice President Harris in a very good light with the voters,” he said. “He’s more than likeable and you can tell he’s a teacher; he knows how to deliver information, knows how to deliver rhetoric that’s effective and easy to process."
At the end of the day, Voss believes voters will try to vote based on the message, and not necessarily on how the message is delivered. “Undisciplined” was the word he used to describe the previous campaigns run by former President Donald Trump, but he still won in 2016, and we know 2020’s race was tight – and he won his two primary elections. But Voss does think the euphoria surrounding Harris since July, could prove to be significant should things hold up for two more months.
“Certainly, polling suggests that battleground states that used to lean Republican are now in play, and battleground states that were toss-ups now lean towards Harris,” he said. “She has made gains across the board."
When asked what he thinks would happen if the election was held today, he gave a nod to the polls and said Harris would win a close race. But the big day is still 74 days away.
“I wouldn’t put any bet on a poll this far out. October is usually when things really crystalize,” he said.
