Democrat nominee Kamala Harris' allies are concerned that she has not yet shown voters that she can handle the national economy better than her GOP rival, Donald Trump, whose pre-pandemic economy is considered his key strength in the race for the White House.
"That is where Harris still has some work to do, which is to drive home the economic message, because she's part of this administration that has lost credibility on economic issues," said Evan Roth Smith, the lead pollster at Blueprint, a Democratic polling initiative, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Smith said despite Harris' strong debate performance last week and her announcing what she calls an "opportunity economy" with plans to help new homebuyers, small businesses, parents, and consumers, she has not yet sold that plan to undecided voters.
Veteran Republican strategist Mike Murphy, who opposes Trump's candidacy, said he agrees that Harris must start working on making her plans known, as she didn't do that in the debate.
Murphy said Harris will be in an "extremely strong position" if she connects with voters on the economy, but if she is seen as being "more of the same on the economy, then I think Trump can win."
Reports that inflation is cooling off while household incomes are climbing to almost where they were before the pandemic could help Harris, but voters are still upset over inflation and they think Trump is the better choice for bringing down prices.
A Wall Street Journal poll in August showed that 38% of voters said the cost of living is still going up, marking a record high dating back to late 2021.
Of those voters, 71% said they were voting for Trump.
Meanwhile, undecided voters said their top concerns are the economy and inflation and agreed by a 43-point lead that Trump would manage the economy better.
Longtime Democrat strategist James Carville said that with the Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates next month, Harris may be able to argue that voters are making economic gains that could be at risk if Trump is elected.
"I don't think the potential is to convince people that it's better than you think it is, but you might convince people that you have something to lose," he said.
Trump has also been arguing that Harris has no new ideas on the economy, but that she has copied President Joe Biden's agenda.
Republican pollster Micah Roberts, who surveys voters for CNBC, said it will be difficult for Harris to change people's minds that the economy that was robust under Trump became weak when Biden became president.
"The bad news for Harris is that the pessimism hasn't fallen between 2021 and 2024," he said.
Some of Harris' ideas have shown to be popular in public opinion polls, but economists are saying that they could cost taxpayers trillions of dollars.
"There are ideas that sound too much like white papers, too much like things that can be watered down by Congress or sound like every other politician — a tax credit for these people or those people," Smith said.
He added that his company has found that a broad idea such as a tax cut for the middle class has more impact on voters than Harris' targeted proposals.
Political analyst Ruy Teixeira, who has written about how Democrats perceive policy, said Harris' proposals are "mini plans" and her opportunity economy is "vague" and unlikely to resonate with the working-class voters in the nation's swing states.
Teixeira added that Harris may need to show a public break from Biden on policy matters to get voters to believe her on the economy.