GOP political adviser Mark McKinnon, who worked for President George W. Bush, is predicting that Vice President Kamala Harris will defeat former President Donald Trump in November, "maybe easily."
"Here's why I say it's Harris' [race] to lose," McKinnon wrote in an opinion piece published Friday by Vanity Fair, according to The Hill. "Trump voters may be committed, but Harris voters are excited and enthusiastic. In August, the Harris-Tim Walz ticket enjoyed an eight-point lead when it came to voter enthusiasm."
Harris' supporters, he said, have led him to make his "bold prediction" that Harris will win, adding that he didn't care "if I'm wrong, even if this lives on the internet forever."
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll last month showed excitement among Harris' voters was 8 points higher than that among Trump supporters, by 68%-60%.
In April, Gallup said the party that has the "higher net-enthusiasm score at the end of a presidential campaign usually sees their candidate win."
McKinnon also wrote there is a "big difference in the ground game" between workers for the two parties.
"Democrats are largely paying their field workers, while Republicans are mostly relying on volunteers," he wrote. "These are factors not being picked up on the radar of the head-to-head polling.”
The New York Times reported earlier this month, Harris' operation has deployed paid staff members to organize nationwide for the campaign, but Trump's side has focused on "less frequent voters" and "well-funded but inexperienced outside groups."
McKinnon further brought up Project 2025, the game plan for the next GOP presidency published by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which was written by several Trump loyalists. It has been a focal point for Democrats and Harris, who tried to tie the plan to Trump and his allies.
However, Trump has insisted that he had "nothing to do" with Project 2025.
McKinnon also pointed out the "gender gap" between Harris and Trump, and said women will help the vice president win.
"Trump has an advantage with men," he wrote. "But I believe that in the end, the Harris gender gap with women will shatter all previous records and be determinative."
According to an Emerson College survey released Friday, Trump was leading Harris among men by 56%-42%, but Harris was ahead with women by 55%-41%.
The poll also showed the pair in a virtual tie: 49% for Harris to 48% for Trump.
McKinnon added that women will "do the work and save our a** and our democracy. They've been doing it for centuries, so it shouldn't be a surprise."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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