Poll: Harris narrows gap with Trump in presidential race

Ahmed Atef (Washington, Cairo)

Vice President Kamala Harris has narrowed Republican nominee Donald Trump’s lead among likely voters in Michigan, according to a poll, confirming that the Democrat is catching up to Trump in the presidential race. Trump had 46 percent support in the Aug. 23-26 poll released on Monday, compared with 45 percent for Harris.
Harris led Trump in three polls after the Democratic National Convention formally approved her replacement by President Joe Biden.
As the race between Harris and Trump intensifies, experts are wondering, can a woman occupy the Oval Office?
Thanks to strong polling and growing optimism, Democrats see Harris’ identity as a woman of color as a major advantage, with interviews with Democratic women indicating a growing confidence that the political climate has shifted in favor of women since Hillary’s loss in 2016.
“People are now in a place where they can imagine a woman as president, they can look at Harris and see that she is fit for the role,” former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar said in a statement.
There is evidence to support this optimism: the United States witnessed a massive women’s march the day after Trump’s inauguration, which led to a large number of organizations emerging to support female candidates. This movement contributed to a historic wave of women elected to Congress in 2018, and Harris’s election as the first female vice president was part of this development.
US-based political analyst Faisal Al-Shammari says that the difficulty of a woman winning the presidency is a controversial issue influenced by historical and cultural factors, noting that Harris, the most prominent current political figure, may be able to change this path, but she still faces major challenges.
Al-Shammari explained in statements to Al-Ittihad that women in American politics often face double opposition. On the one hand, they are required to prove their worth in a society that still doubts women’s ability to lead, and on the other hand, they must avoid falling into stereotypes that may reduce their chances of winning.
The political analyst describes Harris’ victory – if it happens – as a turning point in the history of American women, but he links the victory to her ability to convince voters that she has the experience and vision that qualify her to assume this position, adding that her presence as vice president is a big step towards breaking this complex, but it does not necessarily guarantee her victory in the presidency.
For her part, American political analyst Irina Zuckerman says that Harris seems closer than Hillary to becoming the first female president of America.
Zuckerman believes that women in office are normal, but because the position of president is treated as special rather than just a regular executive position, the selection of female candidates is still very limited, and therefore treated differently from other positions.
In the same context, American affairs specialist Ahed Al-Hindi believes that Harris’ presence in the electoral race is an activation for a large segment of American women who may not have been this active if Biden was the presidential candidate against Trump.
He said that Harris adds a new dimension, as her presence encourages many women and even men to vote in the American elections, because she is a woman and belongs to a minority in a country that has historically been ruled by white men, stressing Harris’ ability to break a historical barrier in America.