POLL: Liz Cheney’s Endorsement Badly Hurt Kamala With Independents In Pennsylvania

A brand new poll from Data for Progress conducted in the states of Pennsylvania and Michigan, critical battleground states during election season, seemingly suggests that Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to campaign with former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney just days before the race led to a decrease in enthusiasm among key voters. To summarize, Cheney hurt Harris’ campaign in both key states.

The Cheney endorsement made nearly 3-in-10 independent Pennsylvania voters less enthusiastic about Harris' campaign

– Data for Progress – pic.twitter.com/fXonQb7H1x

— Polling USA (@USA_Polling) November 22, 2024

The analysis shows that the two most important issues in both Pennsylvania and Michigan were the economy and inflation, which ultimately swayed the decision for voters when it came time to choose a candidate to cast their ballots for. Data for Progress writes:

Voters believed Donald Trump would address this core issue of the economy more than Harris. Voters also heard more from Trump on economic issues than they did from Harris, and considered Trump to be the “change candidate.” However, Trump’s own voters expect him to increase taxes on billionaires and big corporations, expand Medicare, and address kitchen table issues like corporate grocery price gouging and “junk fees.” Together, these findings provide clarity about Harris’ campaign decisions — and Trump’s mandates moving forward.

Both polls asked potential voters how their enthusiasm for Harris was impacted by her joining forces with Cheney. Another question was focused on her campaign’s decision to focus their efforts on populist economic messaging. The findings of the poll show that the vice president’s choice to campaign alongside Cheney took time away from her addressing the economic concerns of the American people.

“Our polling finds that Pennsylvania Independents were 18 points more enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning on economic issues, and 7 points less enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning with Cheney, – a swing of 25 points. In Michigan, Independents were 11 points more enthusiastic to vote for Harris when campaigning on economic issues and 7 points less enthusiastic when campaigning with Cheney — a swing of 18 points. In both states, 70% of voters said Harris campaigning with Cheney either had no impact on their enthusiasm or made them less enthusiastic,” the report went on to say about the polling data.

Focusing on economic issues boosted enthusiasm among liberal voters by a total of 25 points in Pennsylvania and 20 points in Michigan.

“By wide margins, Pennsylvania and Michigan Independents and Republicans — the audience Harris was looking to win over — said the economy was their top issue when voting. This finding emphasizes why diverting resources to campaigning with Cheney in the final days, instead of doubling down on Harris’ messaging regarding popular economic issues, may have decreased enthusiasm for Harris among key voters,” the analysis revealed.

By almost a 2-to-1 margin, supporters of President-elect Donald Trump in both states stated they wanted to see billionaires pay more money in taxes. A majority of Trump supporters in both states were also in favor of increasing taxes on large corporations. The analysis also revealed a large majority of his voters also want to see him drop the hammer on corporate price gouging. The data also clearly communicates that many of the folks who voted for him did so because they believed he would improve the economy and help lower costs for goods and services.

Trump spoke more on economic issues impacting regular people than Harris and thus voters viewed him as the “change candidate.

The final conclusions of the analysis stated, “Overall, these findings underscore how central the economy and the economic pain of the past few years were in shaping voter decisions in Pennsylvania and Michigan. While Harris ran on a popular economic agenda, she was ultimately unable to convince voters that she, not Trump, would usher in the changes they wanted to see, lower prices, and challenge bad actors and special interests. However, most voters supported the policies Harris was running on, Trump voters included. Looking ahead, this polling has identified areas of overwhelming support for progressive, populist economic policies, suggesting that executing these policies should be a priority for the incoming administration.”