Despite having more watchable programming and better ratings, the Democratic national convention hasn't delivered a notable boost to the Harris-Walz campaign. The lead the Democratic ticket has gained in the national polls following President Joe Biden's departure from the campaign remains steady but has not surged post-convention.
Democrats are excited, and we get it – joyful. Swing voters seem to remain unmoved.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "suspension" of his campaign and endorsement of Donald Trump on Aug. 23 has had a similar non-effect on polls. The only drama the announcement brings is some mild speculation that Trump might prefer Kennedy over J.D. Vance as a running mate.
The Kennedy campaign has also claimed that Democrat super PACs have been pouring money into lawsuits to keep Kennedy off the ballot in states. So far, the only state where Kennedy has failed to qualify is New York. The campaign pulled Kennedy's name from the ballot in Arizona, Texas and Ohio, saying it would pull out of key battleground states in the Aug. 23 suspension announcement. On Aug. 28, the campaign filed to run in Kentucky. It is unclear what the campaign's intent is at this point. This has been the case throughout the Kennedy campaign.
As I scan the commentary headlines in my most-read publications, the common thread that leaps out to me is that both the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz tickets are avoiding heavy policy discussions and campaigning on personality and charisma. This is to be expected.
Both candidates, in their stump speeches, are moving to the center. Trump is avoiding answering questions over whether he would veto a national abortion ban after Vance told NBC news that he would. At last week's convention, Democrats introduced a much harder line on immigration than has been heard from that party in decades.
Of course, what candidates say to get your vote and what they do once in office are often very different things. Voters expect this. Hence the "vibes" election of 2024. We're going with our gut in the voting booth.
At the most basic level the media is portraying this as "joy" on the Democratic side and "rage" on the Republican side. Either emotion is valid. From one perspective, voters are channeling excitement and positive emotion behind a candidate they feel represents their interests. On the other, voters are bringing their frustration and unhappiness with the post-pandemic world and getting behind a candidate they believe will right wrongs.
(In this column, I try and do several things: rely on facts rather than populist memes, consider perspectives from multiple points of view, and avoid preaching in favor of inviting thoughtfulness. Trigger warning: this edition may take on a homiletic tone from this point forward.)
I have a suggestion. At the top of the ballot, this may be the year to put aside policy and vibes and become a single-issue voter. The issue is quite fundamental: democracy. Trump, unlike his 44 predecessors, refused to accept the results of a national, lawful presidential election.
Trump searched for every way possible to deny the election results and be declared the winner. He fired the government's top cybersecurity official, widely respected on both sides of the aisle, two weeks after the election for debunking the misinformation and conspiracy theories Trump and his campaign promoted regarding the election. He sought to discredit the election within his own Department of Justice; his attorney general refused, and then resigned. His campaign filed scores of lawsuits, all of which failed, even when heard by judges Trump himself appointed.
Trump tried to strongarm state election officials into "finding" votes (it's not voter fraud when it helps your side). In Georgia, Trump's and his staff's attempts to change the outcome of the election there have resulted in criminal racketeering charges. Four co-defendants from Trump's staff have pleaded guilty.
Which brings us to January 6, 2021. Trump scheduled a rally and invited (they didn't just "happen" to show up) extremist thugs including members of the pseudo-militia groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. At the rally at the Ellipse on the National Mall, Trump contravened his own security and ordered that armed attendees be allowed in. He exhorted them to march to the Capitol where the electoral votes were being counted.
We all saw what happened next. The FBI estimates between 2,000 and 2,500 people (roughly the same number as two infantry battalions) stormed the Capitol. Members of the mob vandalized and looted corridors and offices. A gallows was erected west of the Capitol, and rioters chanted "Hang Mike Pence" when he followed the Constitution and presided over the counting of electoral votes.
As the violence continued and people lost their lives, Trump was on the phone. He asked Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama to delay the vote counting, as he ignored requests to send in the DC National Guard to assist the Capitol Police. He eventually authorized the National Guard nearly three hours after the attack. Five people died within 36 hours of the attack on the Capitol.
This is the issue that warrants your vote. Trump is unfit to serve as President of the United States. A man who will organize a mob to storm the Capitol to overturn a lawful election result does not deserve a second term or any future elected office.
I offer my thanks to the Republicans who took the stage at the Democratic national convention with this same message; to the 238 former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers who published an open letter in USA Today on Aug. 26 with this message; and to the more than 70,000 Republicans who joined the first "Republicans for Harris" Zoom call. This is a matter of country over party. In 2028, I am hopeful we may have the luxury of policy parsing once again.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and two of cat. She can be reached at
[Editor's Note: Reminder that opinions of columnists are theirs.]
