Why would people vote for Kamala Harris? 5 things to understand about why her supporters back her

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Sept. 13, 2024. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Kamala Harris has the support of nearly 49% of voters, according to recent polling. Why do those people support her?

For many on the right, the support for the candidate some critics call “Comrade Kamala” can be baffling or even suggest they are brainwashed.

People have called her a “Marxist ideologue,” a “communist” and a “California radical.” Other critics, including Republican politicians, have labeled Harris a “DEI candidate” who lacks the intelligence and qualifications to be president.

I am an anthropologist of peace and conflict who has long worked abroad – and I have also studied political division in the U.S. since 2015 and published a related book in 2021, “It Can Happen Here,” which looks at white power extremism in the country.

More recently, I have been examining ways to counter polarization in the U.S., an endeavor that requires considering seriously the arguments of both sides. To do so, I have monitored political messaging and attended campaign rallies, populist events and workshops seeking to bridge the Red-Blue divide. Along the way, I have spoken to voters on the left and right.

I recently considered five lines of thinking that lead people to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Here’s the other side – five reasons voters support Harris.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris poses for photos with supporters during a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2024.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

1. A calm, steady leader

For many Democrats and some “Never Trump” Republicans, one big reason to vote for Harris seems obvious: She’s not Trump.

Trump, they contend, is an authoritarian threat to democracy who must be stopped.

The evidence?

Exhibit A: Trump’s record as president. Trump, they underscore, fomented division, while demonizing women, immigrants and people of color. He told nonstop lies and eroded trust in the media and government institutions.

In addition, Harris voters point to how Trump committed impeachable acts, refused to concede in the 2020 election and incited an insurrection.

There’s also Exhibit B: Trump’s post-presidency record. Harris supporters say Trump has continued to spout lies, issue vague threats of violence and attack government institutions as under the control of the “deep state.” He has promised to persecute his political enemies and become a dictator on “day one” if reelected.

Harris voters point out that many Republicans, including those who worked with Trump, warn about the dangers of a second Trump term, which could result in everything from sanctioned political violence to an erosion of people’s rights.

In contrast, they contend that Harris combines steady leadership with a message of change, calm, honesty and hope for a better future.

2. A reproductive-rights advocate

Another reason people say they will vote for Harris is her support for abortion rights.

Many Harris supporters watched with alarm as Trump stacked the Supreme Court with conservative appointees and promised to reverse Roe v. Wade.

That alarm turned to panic when the court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading to a deluge of restrictive abortion policies adopted in Republican-controlled states.

Harris, in contrast, has an extensive abortion-rights record. She has promised to “restore reproductive freedom” and codify Roe v. Wade, even if this means eliminating a filibuster in Congress that could prevent this.

Not surprisingly, abortion and Supreme Court appointments are two of the top three concerns of Harris supporters.

For some Harris supporters, Trump’s lack of support for abortion rights – and his lies about the issue – are just another sign of his misogyny. Trump’s lewd “grab ’em” remarks, which were made public in 2016, were just the start. In 2023, for example, a district judge found Trump liable for sexual assault.

Not surprisingly, women support Harris by more than 20 percentage points over Trump.

Many Harris supporters share the sentiments that Oprah Winfrey expressed when she explained her endorsement of the Democratic nominee, saying in 2024, “All of the freedoms that I have enjoyed, the successes that I have enjoyed, I feel that they’re on the line and at stake in this moment.”

Harris also has greater support from younger, urban and suburban, college-educated and nonwhite voters – many of whom see social justice, or a commitment to fairness in society, as a crucial concern.

3. A health care defender

Health care is another top issue for Harris supporters.

Over 20 million people are enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, with almost 20 million more covered by the related expansion of Medicaid.

That’s over 10% of the U.S. population.

Trump unsuccessfully tried to abolish the Affordable Care Act, which he called “Obamacare,” while president. He still wants to replace it – without a clear plan on how he will do so. That sets off health care alarm bells for many potential Harris voters.

So, too, do Trump’s attacks on other social justice concerns, especially racial and ethnic equity, which over half of Harris supporters list as “very important.”

Harris, in contrast, has promised to be “a president for all Americans,” telegraphing her support for the diverse range of people in the country.

Last but not least, many Harris voters have concerns about the government-funded social safety net. This includes issues such as the child tax credit, Medicare and Medicaid, student debt relief and food assistance.

A Kamala Harris supporter holds up a Time magazine cover of her at a campaign event in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Sept. 13, 2024.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

4. A unifier

Another key reason people like Harris is that they think she builds bridges.

On the domestic front, her supporters believe she can heal the divisions that have torn apart the country over the past eight years.

In foreign affairs, Harris promises to maintain key international alliances, such as NATO, which Trump has threatened to leave.

Harris supporters also note that she can build bridges across the aisle in the United States. The Biden-Harris administration was remarkably successful at passing bipartisan legislation, including the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Harris also promises to support bipartisan immigration reform, which, she now frequently underscores, has been stymied by Trump, despite Republican support for a bipartisan reform bill that was likely to pass Congress.

Finally, some Harris supporters point to her ability to address issues such as climate change, another key concern that the Biden-Harris administration helped address through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

5. A step forward

Some voters also support Harris because they see her as a candidate of change.

When Harris replaced President Joe Biden on the ticket in late July, voters across a range of demographics were immediately galvanized by her relative youth, biracial identity, articulateness and positive message of change and possibility, as opposed to fear.

Harris experienced a massive surge in campaign donations in the days after Biden pulled out of the race.

In contrast to Trump, a white man who would be in his 80s during a 2025-28 term and has dominated U.S. politics since 2015, Harris would serve as a woman of Jamaican and Indian descent in her early 60s.

Where Trump is a convicted felon, Harris is a former prosecutor who, as her supporters say, would be tough on crime and a strong leader.

Her steady hand, they argue, would build on the Biden-Harris administration’s “soft-landing” economic successes in the fight against inflation and help lead the country, as the Harris campaign slogan goes, on “A New Way Forward.”

This path, her supporters contend, would shatter glass ceilings and turn the page on the country’s turbulent recent past.

Alex Hinton receives funding from the Rutgers-Newark Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America and the Rutgers Research Council.