Vice President Kamala Harris is performing better than President Joe Biden among Latinos on border security, an issue closely associated to the community but that has lately not been high up among its priorities.
The conclusion stems from a new Axios Vibes Survey. Conducted by The Harris Poll, it showed that almost half of Latino respondents (49%) think the presumptive nominee is better than her predecessor on the issue. 19% think she's about the same and 27% said she would do a poorer job.
The poll does clarify that border security is not at the top of Latinos' minds when discussing the issues they care about the most. It only ranked eight, the poll said, with the top three being inflation (47%), housing affordability (24%) and jobs and wages (23%).
However, many Republicans consider this to be a key issue, with officials seeking to label her as a "border czar" and claim she played a significant role in what they have repeatedly defined as a crisis.
A large portion of the electorate is focused on the issue, with the latest poll by Gallup showing that "significantly more U.S. adults than a year ago, 55% versus 41%, would like to see immigration to the U.S. decreased."
"This is the first time since 2005 that a majority of Americans have wanted there to be less immigration, and today's figure is the largest percentage holding that view since a 58% reading in 2001. The record high was 65%, recorded in 1993 and 1995," the survey added.
But while it may be a political liability, the now-Democratic nominee seems to be taking a new approach, addressing the issue head-on along the campaign trail.
The new strategy represents a sharp turn around for the party, who had largely avoided the topic altogether. Now, the Vice President's campaign is reportedly adopting a persona familiar to her public figure: prosecutor.
"The vice president has a compelling story to tell about prosecuting transnational gangs and drug traffickers as the attorney general of a border state," a campaign official said. "That record will make it harder for the Trump camp's attacks on her to stick."
Harris is still trailing GOP nominee Donald Trump on the issue, with a recent poll produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates showing the Republican with a 10-point lead. However, she has managed to make some inroads, considering the difference was one of 14 points in July.
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