This is an adapted excerpt from the July 29 episode of “Morning Joe.”
President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race completely shook up what should have been the Republican Party’s post-convention glow.
While Donald Trump did see a polling bump, as you would expect following a party’s convention, that wasn’t the story making headlines last week. No one was talking about what was discussed at the Republican National Convention.
Instead, the national conversation quickly moved past the convention and the focus shifted to the future: Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy.
Democrats are in and they’re activated.
Last week, for the first installment of Morning Joe’s 2024 presidential election focus groups, we visited the purple state of Wisconsin, where less than 30,000 votes determined the winner of around a dozen elections since 2000.
Campaigns use focus groups to test candidates, policy positions, and political messages. Focus groups are crucial because in order to win elections, you have to understand the voters. During my conversations, I noticed how different the energy was among voters last week, compared to when I was in Wisconsin just six weeks earlier. Six weeks ago, Democratic voters were depressed. Now they’re energized. They might have some qualms about Harris, and she may not have been their first choice — but she is now. Democrats are in and they’re activated. That isn’t to say Trump doesn’t also have enthusiastic supporters. We saw that fervor on full display at the RNC. But now, the test will be whether Democrats can match and sustain that enthusiasm this time around.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
Elise Jordan
Elise Jordan is a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. She was a policy adviser to Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign. During the George W. Bush administration, she worked in the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting and at the State Department as a speechwriter. Recommended
