The risk for Kamala Harris to seek Republican support

At the Democratic National Convention last month, numerous former Republican officials, including Trump administration officials, warned voters against electing him to the White House for a second term.

On Friday, Nikki Haley’s campaign manager in Iowa became the youngest strategist to join her team.

However, this strategy raises concerns among some observers, who fear that Harris risks alienating her liberal base.

The Republicans for Harris strategy emerged during an incredibly close presidential campaign in which a few party switches could make a big difference to the outcome.

In each of the seven battleground states, the vote margin is very small. No candidate has a lead of more than four percentage points in any of these battleground states, and most polls put the predicted outcome within the statistical margin of error.

This means that voters who switch sides are extremely valuable to both campaigns. A switcher is effectively worth twice as much as an undecided voter, because their switch both takes a vote away from one campaign and adds one to the other.

In addition, there are more potential switchers than undecided ones.

14 percent could still change their vote

According to the Telegraph’s latest swing state poll, an average of 14 percent of voters in these states said they might change their choice, compared to just seven percent who have not yet decided on a candidate.

The data shows that Ms Harris has an advantage in the political affiliation of voters who switch parties. In most swing states, more Trump voters say they are open to switching parties than Harris voters – suggesting that Trump’s support is somewhat “softer”.

However, Ms Harris is also at risk if support from the left collapses.

According to data from YouGov, Cheney, who is primarily associated with the Iraq war, has an approval rating of just 33 percent among the American public.

Not surprisingly, he is particularly unpopular among Democrats. Former Trump appointees are similarly despised by liberal voters who could be turned off by their support of Ms Harris.

Philip van Scheltinga, head of research at Redfield & Wilton, who conducted a poll in swing states for The Telegraph, said: “It is absolutely astonishing that the Harris campaign has now publicly declared itself ‘proud’ of supporting Dick Cheney.

“He was a deeply unpopular vice president and has done nothing since taking office to restore his public image, nor has his policies been in any way justified.

“If public opinion had again supported the Iraq war at that time, then the Harris team’s decision might have made sense, but that was not the case.

“The Harris campaign team has taken the extent of the anti-Trump voter sentiment for granted.”

Weathering the storm of the Middle East conflict

Polls show that Ms Harris has regained the support of some liberals who opposed Joe Biden, particularly because of his support for Israel during the Gaza conflict.

However, there are concerns within her campaign team that some younger voters – especially in swing states – may stay home on November 5.

Young women are significantly more likely to support Harris than Biden, but may also be concerned about supporting Republicans who served under Trump or previous Republican administrations.

Since Harris succeeded Biden in July, her campaign has done a good job of avoiding major negative headlines and pursuing a “Ming Vase” strategy that focuses more on avoiding losses than making bold electoral gains.

It’s a risky strategy to win over prominent Republicans, many of whom have dubious reputations among the voters she needs most.