DALLAS — Matt Mackowiak is a long-time Republican strategist and chair of the Travis County Republican Party.
But even he admits Democrats pulled off an engaging national convention that attracted a large television audience and effectively introduced Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President.
“The question now is, has Harris’ kind of free ride come to an end,” Mackowiak questioned on Inside Texas Politics. “Is the rise that she’s had over six weeks, which has been meteoric, is that now going to be sustained by anything that’s real?”
Mackowiak says after Labor Day, the race becomes more about the issues as voters start paying closer attention, campaigns start spending real money, debates happen, and Mackowiak points out, “things change.”
“I think the challenge the Dems have now is two things: one, if she has so many good ideas about how to make things better, why haven’t they been doing that for three years,” Mackowiak told us. “But two is, what are her policy ideas going to be? Why has her opinion changed on so many things? And when is she going to start answering actual questions?”
The strategist says the Trump campaign now needs to make the race about the economy and immigration. If they do that, Mackowiak says they win.
But if it’s about abortion, personalities, or looking backward, then he says Harris has a real chance to win.
Mackowiak says the race will be close until the end.
Here in Texas, a new survey of likely voters found that Harris is closing the gap, with Trump’s lead now just under five points, 49.5% to 44.6%.
The survey by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs and the TSU Executive Master of Public Administration program in the Barbara Jordan – Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs has a margin of error of +/- 2.65%.
“This is still going to come down to seven states. It’s probably going to come down to two or three states. It’s probably going to come down to 15 counties in two or three states,” Mackowiak said.
And if he had to pick just one state to watch, Mackowiak says he’d pick Pennsylvania, which he thinks is the key to both candidates winning.
Early voting runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.
Election day is Nov. 5 when polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.