Kamala Harris is now the new Democratic nominee for president. With her new candidacy, she’s tapping into a new demographic for votes: Republicans. 

On August 4, 2024, Harris launched “Republicans for Harris,” a platform dedicated to appealing her views towards Republicans with over 25 Grand Old Party (GOP) endorsements.

In recent polls, Trump’s support for his presidency has dropped by seven percent, according to a new poll by Fairleigh University. This drop in support is likely due to Harris finding ways to advertise her policies towards Republicans that are uncertain invoting for Trump.

Throughout the creation of “Republicans for Harris,” more than 203 republicans and centrists have endorsed Harris, with some of the most notable endorsers being Matt Romney and John McCain.

Harris has been able to use these endorsements to highlight that many Republicans are not satisfied with Trump and elevate her platform to be more inclusive for all political parties.

“The stakes are too high to let partisanship jeopardize our freedoms and the Constitution” former Trump Staff Olivia Troye said as she endorsed Harris.

On August 15, Harris held an online rally for Republicans to listen to her policy ideas and convince them to vote for her. Harris acknowledged that her policies won’t directly line up with what Republicans believe, but that voting for Trump would endanger democracy as a whole.

“It’s not easy to vote outside your party,” Harris said. “But at the end of the day, I can assure you that you will know in your heart that you did the right thing.”

Harris has been able to garner new votes not only through logistics and facts, but through emotional appeals by speaking directly with Republicans on policy ideas during her rally.

With previous election tactics, nominees would attack the other side and smear their opponents platform. However, Harris has taken a new approach of marketing her policies for both sides. 

Through these tactics, Harris has been able to boost her support while ensuring that Trump’s platform decreases in number.

While trying to come back from this blow to his platform, Reuters has pointed out how Trump has only damaged his platform even more with this new wave of support for Harris in an article titled “One in Ten Republicans Less Likely to Vote for Trump after Guilty Verdict”.

Trump has stated how he will not debate Harris unless it is on Fox News. Harris has been able to use this to her advantage to convey the idea how Trump does not like to talk to his opponents unless he has the upper hand.

This, incorporated with word of mouth and politically interested citizens outreaching on behalf of Harris, has made it difficult for Trump to find creative ways to uplift his policies.

Trump has not been able to recover his old support despite his efforts, especially now with Harris´s team finding new ways to critique Trump.

Harris’s team (Kamala HQ) have made multiple social media posts to critique Trump in a satirical manner. The jokes incorporated with the uplifting of Harris’s policies, have led to younger centrists and Republicans to support Harris instead of Trump. 

Harris, win or lose this election, has created a new marketing strategy that will be seen in future elections due to its success.