MINNEAPOLIS — Hours ahead of Tuesday night's pivotal debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, KARE 11 checked in with three veteran Minnesota political analysts to get their quick takes on what's at stake for both candidates.
The consensus remains that Harris has more at stake in the rhetorical tussle in Philadelphia, barring any huge gaffes by Trump.
Steven Schier - Carleton College Political Science professor emeritus:
"Harris has more to gain and more to lose than Donald Trump tonight. The reason for that is about a third of the public in the polls want to know more about her. They don’t really feel they have a good understanding of who she is. That’s an opportunity and it’s also a problem, in that, a lot depends on her performance tonight with that big chunk of the public."
"However, important this debate may be, it probably won’t fundamentally alter the fact that the race will remain very competitive up to Election Day."
"Trump will certainly focus on inflation, the economy, and immigration, which are top concerns amongst voters. And Harris will focus on January 6th, the riot at the Capitol, Donald Trump’s personal past, and the threat to democracy he may present."
"What you’ll see from Harris is an attempt to pivot towards the future whenever she can, so as not to have to discuss the record of the Biden Administration. With Trump what you will see is constant comparisons – my presidency versus Biden's."
Larry Jacobs, Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the U of M:
"I don’t think anyone following polls can really tell you who’s ahead at this point, so tonight emerges as maybe the biggest opportunity and the only opportunity to tilt the election in favor of one candidate or another."
"Donald Trump has done this a bunch of times and has performed well. He knocked Joe Biden out of the race. On the other hand, Kamala Harris has had some momentum, she represents a younger candidate, a candidate with real experience as a prosecutor who will try to pin Trump's ears back."
"For Kamala Harris, she has got to convey that she is going to be an agent of change because of the dissatisfaction with the Biden Administration. For Donald Trump, he’s got to assure America he’s going to be a reliable and more under control candidate and president."
"Can Trump stick to the issues? Or will he give in the temptation to go off on the handle? It will be a disaster for him if he were to any way question the race or gender of Kamala Harris, which he’s done in speeches and other appearances in the past."
David Schultz, Hamline University and U of M School of Law:
"Only about two to three percent of the voters are undecided, and there are still a lot of voters who don’t know who Harris is. So, for a lot of reasons, she needs to restart momentum, introduce herself. Less than 60 days before the election she’s still introducing herself to large chunks of the American population, so, this debate is really important for her."
"For Trump, his supporters are locked in. They are loyal. We know they’re going to vote for him. Harris's support is still, let’s say, softer at this point."
"Will they stick to the issues? If Trump sticks to issues of the economy, the border, inflation, the public likes where he is. They don’t like where he is on the abortion issue, so you'll see him trying to walk away from that issue. Harris probably wants to get him upset, get him provoked so he goes off on a handle, goes in a whole bunch of different directions."
"The future shouldn't come down to a misstatement or mistake in a debate, but unfortunately, on Wednesday morning, the story for so many people will be did somebody commit a gaffe? Did somebody stay focused? Did somebody implode?"
KARE 11 will provide complete coverage of the ABC News debate Tuesday night and Wednesday.