The combination of Republicans' recent election struggles, the abortion issue, and a huge money advantage will result in Vice President Kamala Harris defeating former President Donald Trump in the presidential election, longtime Democrat consultant James Carville said.
Carville, who first gained national attention as former President Bill Clinton's lead strategist in 1992, predicted Harris' victory in an opinion column for The New York Times.
"[T]oday I am pulling my stool up to the political poker table to throw my chips all in: America, it will all be OK. Ms. Harris will be elected the next president of the United States," Carville wrote.
He cites several key reasons for predicting a Harris triumph, the first being the GOP's "losing streak."
"The biggest reason Mr. Trump will lose is that the whole Republican Party has been on a losing streak since Mr. Trump took it over," Carville wrote. "See 2018: the largest House landslide for Democrats in a midterm election since Watergate. See 2020: He was decisively bucked from the White House by [President] Joe Biden. See 2022: an embarrassment of a midterm for Republicans off the heels of Dobbs.
"And the Democrats have been performing well in special elections since Trump appointees on the Supreme Court helped take away a basic right of American women. Guess what? Abortion is on the ballot again — for president."
Carville also mentioned Trump's age (78) and Nikki Haley's Republican primary support after the former U.N. ambassador dropped out of the presidential race.
"Although Ms. Haley has endorsed Mr. Trump, losing even a fraction of those voters leaves Mr. Trump running the final leg of this race with a fundamental fracture of the femur," Carville wrote. "To add a cherry to the pie, most voters think Mr. Trump is too old to be president, but instead of easing their concerns, he's spending the final days of the campaign jiving to the Village People and canceling interviews.
"On the other side, in just three months Ms. Harris has assembled a unified and electrified coalition. From [Democrat New York Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to [former Republican Wyoming Rep.] Liz and [former Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney, it is the broadest we have seen in modern political history. And Ms. Harris's coalition is just as excited as the smaller opposition. This is shaping out to be a record-turnout election — and if the bigger coalition turns out with equal enthusiasm, it will be lights out for Mr. Trump."
The Democrat strategist added that "money matters" in campaigns.
"Since joining the race, the vice president has raised an eye-boggling $1 billion, and last quarter one of her fund-raising committees reeled in $633 million — dwarfing what Mr. Trump raised with two committees combined," Carville wrote. "All this cash not only effectively offsets the flow of money funneling in for Mr. Trump from some tech billionaires, but it has also given Ms. Harris the resources she needs to persuade swing voters with ads and to organize on the ground."
Finally, Carville said he has "a feeling" about the election's outcome.
"My final reason is 100 percent emotional," Carville admitted."We are constantly told that America is too divided, too hopelessly stricken by tribalism, to grasp the stakes. That is plain wrong. If the Cheneys and A.O.C. get that the Constitution and our democracy are on the ballot, every true conservative and every true progressive should get it too.
"In two weeks, we not only have a chance to elect Kamala Harris as president, but a chance to bring finality to the sordid career of Donald Trump and drive MAGA into a prolonged remission."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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