Kamala Harris's campaign entered election day with what felt like momentum in her race against Donald Trump, as forecasts narrowed to a 50-50 contest—in some cases even giving her a narrow edge—and her prediction markets improved.
In reality, Harris was losing—and losing badly.
As it stands, with some votes left to tally, the Republican nominee Trump is expected to sweep the swing states and win the popular vote, the first candidate of his party to do so in 20 years. The House and Senate are also anticipated to come under GOP control.
Harris's campaign pushed hard on Trump's character, legal troubles, and the turmoil of his first administration—such as the January 6 Capitol riot—hoping voters would be put off by the idea of returning to the 2017 to 2021 era.
The rolling back of abortion rights across the U.S. was also a central feature of the Harris campaign after the Supreme Court—now balanced in the favor of conservatives after Trump's appointments—overturned Roe v. Wade. She vowed to restore them.
There was also a focus on reducing everyday costs for Americans, including anti-price gouging measures, after the Biden administration oversaw a painful period of high inflation as the global economy recovered quickly from the coronavirus pandemic.
But the majority of American voters were left unconvinced by Harris. Her association with the Biden administration—which was unpopular, and most people polled thought the U.S. was on the wrong track—and issues such as the border and Gaza weighed heavily.
So, as America wakes up to the prospect of a second Trump term beginning in January 2025, Newsweek asked political strategists: What was the Harris campaign's biggest mistake? Here's what they said:
Matt Klink, Owner & President, Klink Campaigns
Kamala Harris' biggest mistake was during her appearance on The View where she was unable to name one thing that she would change from the Biden-Harris Administration.
This "non-answer," left voters with the lingering impression that a Kamala Harris presidency would be four more years of a largely unsuccessful Biden-Harris Administration.
It also stepped all over her message that she represented change.
John McLaughlin, CEO and Partner, McLaughlin & Associates
Trying to run without scrutiny and without a major mea culpa for the failures of the Biden-Harris administration.
Nate Lerner, Principal, Build the Wave LLC
Kamala's campaign was too focused on building an anti-Trump coalition rather than a pro-Kamala one.
We've had nine years of Trump, voters have already made up their minds about him, but many didn't know much about Kamala or have a compelling reason to vote for her.
The result of this was Kamala failing to outperform Biden in key Democratic counties, while Trump meanwhile outperformed his 2020 numbers in red counties.
I believe a lot of undecided voters who didn't like Trump but didn't also didn't have a reason to support Kamala ended up just staying home on election night.
Amy Koch, Political Strategist, Hylden Law
Harris campaign never defined her. It was always about the flaws of Trump and never addressed weaknesses of the VP. VP Harris doesn't really connect with voters in a sustainable way and simply being Not Trump isn't enough in the 2024 cycle.
Jesse Garza, State Strategist, Majority Strategies
The key mistake was she ran on one issue and that was she's not Donald Trump. There was no real vision for the future of the country.
Furthermore, it was extremely difficult for her to be able to distance herself from the Biden administration policies since she has been part of that administration for the last four years.
Ron Bonjean, Co-Founder and Partner, ROKK Solutions
Harris failing to find a message that would appeal to men and allowing Trump to make serious inroads with people of color in the battleground states.
John Thomas, Republican Political Strategist, Nestpoint
Harris' worst decision? Oh gosh where do we begin? I would say the biggest one was not working hard and immediately to distance herself from Biden. She failed to articulate how she would be any different than him and failing to do so was fatal given Biden and his administration's low approval ratings.
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