Still think you don’t know any undecided voters? I promise you that you do and now is the time to talk to them. RIGHT NOW
We are 10 days until the election and the commentariat has reached fever pitch. Even Nate Silver, whose entire business model is predicated on his ability to predict things, said in the New York Times that “50-50 is the only responsible forecast.” There’s no definitive evidence Trump will win. There’s also no evidence Harris will win.
What that means is this election will be won on the margins and by (1) the people who are still undecided this close to election day and (2) getting D voters to the polls.
So with that, here is my closing argument for Kamala Harris, if you know anyone who you think might be undecided, reach out and use these as talking points. If you go to RippleVote.org you can find out if they are registered, if they’ve voted and if they have any critical down ballot races on their ballot.
Preface: Advice on how to convince someone to vote Harris
While it may be tempting to talk about how terrible Trump is or shame someone for not being decided, the data shows that does not persuade someone to vote for Harris. Additionally, neither talking about Trump’s facism nor his weird old man ticks are proving to be persuasive.
The TOP things that do work:
Connecting the stakes of the election to someone's life, in particular forward-looking economic agenda. Explaining that Trump was not responsible for lower prices during his tenure as president. It was due to a regular economic cycle. His plans will not fix inflation or lower gas prices. In fact he has no real plans in place at all to lower any prices. SEE MORE BELOW.
Talking about reproductive freedom using specific stories of actual women being impacted.
Emphasizing that Harris will be a president who puts them first versus Trump’s selfishness, extremism and catering to the uber wealthy.
On the Economy
Big picture: Trump wants to help corporations & billionaires, Harris wants to help normal people.
Harris’s economic plan is focused on helping families: A $6,000 tax credit for a child’s first year of life. A $25,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to working families who have paid their rent on time for two years. A $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs and a $35 cap on insulin for all Americans. Eliminate medical debt for millions of Americans. Implement the first-ever federal ban on price gouging to drive down costs for groceries.
Healthcare: Harris wants to make sure families don’t experience hardship while caring for a sick loved one vs. Trump who tried to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act and who, if elected again, would likely do so again, increasing health care costs for the middle class.
Parenting: Harris has a plan to ensure families don’t pay more than 7% of their income on childcare vs. Trump who has said it’s not a very big problem or very expensive, or his running mate, JD Vance, who said that families should have grandparents help more.
Taxes: Trump‘s plan is all about tariffs which are just going to increase the price of things we buy here, 90% of tomatoes are imported. The 20% tariff increase will add an additional $2,600 in increased costs for the average American household.Trump who has proposed lowering corporate taxes even more to 15%.. Harris' plan is to increase taxes on the wealthy.
Social Security: A new study found Trump's economic agenda could drain Social Security funds in six years.
Mass Deportations: A cornerstone of the Trump plan is mass deportations which would cost $315 billion, $96.7 billion in lost annual taxes paid by undocumented immigrants annually, and would have a ripple effect on the food in our supermarkets and citizen workers. Researchers estimated that for every 1 million unauthorized workers deported, 88,000 native-born jobs would be lost.
On Women’s Health
Big picture: Trump will usher in more restrictions and Harris will fight to re-instante our reproductive freedoms.
Here are some individual narratives: Ondrea nearly died from sepsis, Amanda was unable to get care for a non viable pregnancy until she got sepsis, Kaitlyn couldn’t get miscarriage care at an ER, and Hadley became pregnant at age 12 because her stepfather raped her.
Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and previously supported a national abortion ban after 20 weeks, his administration will use Executive power to restrict access to medication abortions and his DOJ will not stop States from taking away emergency care.
Harris has pledged to never allow a national abortion ban to become law, and has said that when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive rights nationwide she will sign it.
Since Roe was overturned, Harris led the federal government’s efforts to defend reproductive freedom and protect the privacy of patients and healthcare providers.
Governor Walz led Minnesota as the first state to pass a law protecting a woman's right to abortion after Roe was overturned.
Congressional Republicans Vote Against Reproductive Rights:
Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked bills to protect IVF twice this year, with only 2 Senate Republicans voting in support.
Republicans blocked a bill to ensure access to contraception.
Since taking over the U.S. House of Representatives last year, House Republicans have not allowed any votes to protect access to abortion, contraception or IVF. When the House last voted on the Right to Contraception Act in 2022, 195 Republicans voted against it and only 8 House Republicans voted for it. That same year, only 3 Republicans supported the abortion protection bill, Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, while 205 House Republicans voted against it.
Real Women Impacted:
Georgia: At least two women in Georgia died after they couldn’t get abortion healthcare.
Alabama: The Alabama Supreme Court banned IVF earlier this year, putting many womens’ hopes of starting a family on hold. IVF did restart following legislative action, but many questions still remain.
Florida: Since Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect this year, there have been stories of women having to carry babies to term knowing they will die as well as women being denied life-saving care.
Texas: Texas’ abortion ban is linked to a 13% increase in newborn and infant deaths.
Idaho: Idaho has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Idaho doctors do not have enough clarity on what medical emergencies are covered, and have airlifted patients out of state who need emergency procedures.
On Gun Violence
Big Picture: None of us should be afraid to send our kids to school because of the threat of gun violence. This is a great talking point with ALL PARENTS. Trump wants unfettered access to more guns and ammo, Harris wants common sense gun reform.
Harris supports closing loopholes in the background checks system and banning assault weapons vs Trump who supports more people carrying concealed firearms, has appointed three Supreme Court justices with broad views of the Second Amendment, and has been the keynote speaker at the NRA’s annual convention.
Harris heads the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. In this role she has expanded background checks and established the resource center for red flag laws.
President Biden and Vice President Harris encouraged bipartisan cooperation to pass the first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
During her tenure as Vice President, Harris helped deliver the largest investment in public safety ever, investing $15 billion in supporting local law enforcement and community safety programs across 1,000 cities, towns, and counties.
Harris has pledged to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
Should you talk about character?
This argument is probably the least persuasive right now. But here are the facts.
Big Picture: Trump is a corrupt selfish man, Kamala is a public servant.
Trump’s age is increasingly becoming a liability. It is clear he’s not well. He has a strong affinity for dictators and is massively corrupt. He’s interested in ruling America for the benefit of his super wealthy friends. Trump is the only president in U.S. history who had no public service or military record before becoming president.
What is he doing in the final two weeks before the end of this race? He’s talking about a famous golfer’s dick and play-acting at a closed McDonalds.
Harris has been in the public eye and public service her entire adult life. She will bring stability and reason to the Presidency. She understands what it means to be a normal person, she cooks, dances, smiles, can have normal conversations with people and unlike Trump, understands how to shop for her own groceries.
Harris is Following in the Path of Many Past Presidents:
Harris’ Resume of Public Service:
District Attorney: 2004 - 2010
Attorney General of California: 2010 - 2016
U.S. Senator: 2016 - 2021
Vice President: 2021 - Current
On Wellness:
You may know a crunchy wellness warrior who has switched over to Trump because he claims he is going to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN.
Big Picture: Republicans are using wellness as a Trojan Horse .
Despite the fun taglines spouted by RFK Jr. and his group, the actual policy agenda of the Republican party is deregulation. That means less oversight on things like food dyes, agriculture, school lunches and drug safety. See here for direct quotes from Project 2025.
Yes we have a health crisis in America, but Republicans are exploiting a real issue to help corporations, not normal people.
What if you’re talking to someone who doesn’t want to vote?
Big Picture: politicians don’t listen to people who don’t vote, and Donald Trump will be way worse on all the things you actually care about.
Harm reduction: People you probably care about, women, brown and black people, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, those who need healthcare (and more) will be seriously harmed by a Trump Administration.
Foreign affairs: The Trump Administration's posture towards the Israel/Palestine conflict will be one that encourages violence, a vote for a third party candidate is a vote for Trump.
Your vote matters: There’s significant down ballot races that need your vote. Trump will undoubtedly contest the election if he loses, it’s important to have as high of a number supporting Harris as possible. Nick Powers on TikTok has a state-by-state resource for why everyone’s vote counts this year.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
There are Super Important Races & Initiatives in Nearly Half of all States:
The presidential race will likely be decided by just seven states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The majorities for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are also on the line. These majorities will be decided in states like Montana, Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, Texas, California, New York, Nebraska, Maine, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Colorado.
10 states, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, Missouri, Florida, Maryland and New York, have abortion ballot initiatives. There are many other key measures on states across the country ranging from legalizing marijuana to minimum wage increases.
Live in a Red State? Things can change:
Georgia used to be considered deep red, but in 2020 they elected two Democratic Senators that gave the Democrats the majority in the Senate.
In 2023, Ohioans voted for a constitutional amendment protecting access to abortion.
Live in a Blue State? There are so many key down ballot races and ballot initiatives that directly affect the policy in your community.
Ballotpedia has a ballot lookup tool and it’s a really easy way to see what’s on your ballot.
What’s Kamala’s Record?
Abortion: Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion clinic, visiting Planned Parenthood in Minnesota. As a senator, she co-sponsored legislation that would ban states from imposing restrictions on abortion rights, and voted against a bill that would ban abortions.
Gun Violence Prevention: As Vice President, Harris oversees the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Harris launched the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, which will support the effective implementation of state red flag laws.
Childcare: As Vice President, Harris lowered or eliminated payments for childcare for more than 100,000 families. She fought to include provisions in the American Rescue Plan to help more than 220,000 childcare providers stay open during the pandemic, lowered childcare costs an average of $1,250 per child, and helped to increase wages for childcare workers by 10%. She recently announced a plan to cap childcare costs at 7%.
Health Care: As Vice President, Harris announced the Administration’s first-ever national standards for maternal health and safety, establishing maternal safety standards for 6,000+ hospitals which serve 98% of pregnant women in the US. She has championed health equity policies, including a $1.5 billion investment to diversify doctors, nurses and others within the healthcare sector.
Protecting Democracy and Voting Rights: As Vice President, Harris led the Biden-Harris Administration’s initiative for federal voting rights and increased ballot access. As a senator, she served on the Select Committee on Intelligence and led bipartisan legislation to assist in securing American elections.
Climate: As Vice President, Harris cast the decisive vote to secure passage of the landmark climate change bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, which invests in strategies to mitigate and protect against the climate crisis. She secured $20 billion for the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the climate bill which will help disadvantaged communities facing climate impacts. As California attorney general, Harris took on corporations for environmental violations and won.
Law Enforcement: As Vice President, Harris has called on HHS and the DOJ to hasten a reclassification of marijuana saying, “No one should have to go to jail for smoking weed”. As California attorney general, Harris launched a first-of-its-kind implicit bias teaching for law enforcement officers, and became the first statewide agency to adopt a body cameras program.
Protecting LGBTQ+ Americans: As California attorney general, she played a key role in fighting back against Prop 8 to restore marriage equality in California. As Vice President, she has been a vocal opponent of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Education: As Vice President, Harris has helped to lead the Administration’s student loan forgiveness program, forgiving over $167 billion in student loans to 5 million Americans so far. As California attorney general, she took on for-profit colleges that she accused of preying on disadvantaged students and saddling them with unsustainable debt.
Three hours of phone banking with a team of 20 in PA this morning resulted in 53 vote plans and 250 strong Harris IDs! Did I get up at 5:40 am to make it happen? Yes. Am I tired? Yes. Was it worth it? Hell yes!
I canvassed in Monroe Michigan yesterday. A very red town. I knocked on many doors and met many voting for Kamala and we made sure they had a plan. But I also had three very promising conversations with people who didn’t plan to vote but now hopefully will! 🫶. It’s helped with my anxiety for sure. It was my first time and if you are reading this and are in a swing state, get out there and do it! Yes you can!! I’m an introvert and I felt like I nailed it! 😂. Thankful for Emily amick, Brian Derrick, Glennis and vibes only for many talking points. My favorite talking point is public school education! Donald trump wants to gut this. It’s important to almost everyone! Even a 20 year old man recognizes that they utilized public school education. Walz shared a number that was something like you invest a dollar and the return is 12, or you save 12. I can’t remember the exact fact. But the idea is that feeding the kids and providing them a good education helps them get on the right path to a good life!