It’s been 28 years since James Carville first barked, “It’s the economy, stupid,” to help Bill Clinton beat President George H.W. Bush, and nothing has changed since.
In presenting their highly anticipated “Battleground Poll” last week, Democrat Celinda Lake and Republican Ed Goeas said that even amid the coronavirus crisis, it is the economy that is tops on the minds of voters.
Lake said that the edge voters give to President Trump on the economy is the one thing blocking Joe Biden from a blowout win. To cut into Trump’s advantage, she said, Biden needs to “connect the dots” on the issues he is strong on to the economy.
But she added, “If Trump can climb his way up on the economy, he will have a shot come November.”
For Trump to win, said Goeas, he has to get back on an economic message. “The president has to get on the economy and get back the numbers on the economy, or he is in a very deep hole that he is not going to be able to get out of,” he said.
Nationally, Biden was ahead of Trump 53%-40%, said the poll released by the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service McCourt School of Public Policy.
