Democratic lawmakers and strategists are growing "extremely anxious" over how Vice President Kamala Harris will perform at Tuesday’s presidential debate, the Hill reported.
"People are extremely anxious about [Harris’s] performance," Ray Zaccaro, a Democratic strategist and former Senate aide, told the Hill. "There’s a sense of real caution about expectations on her performance."
Zaccaro added that Democrats have been anxiously anticipating Harris’s debate performance since last month’s Democratic convention, understanding that the event has the potential to make or break the vice president—who was thrust into the limelight after her boss’s dismal debate performance led to his abrupt withdrawal.
A Democratic senator who spoke with the Hill echoed Zaccaro’s worries. "Yeah, I’m nervous," the lawmaker said. "She’s not tested." Harris has avoided unscripted events since becoming the Democratic candidate, adding to Democrats' anxiety about the no-notes debate.
"If you’re a conscious, informed Democrat, you’re nervous. How could you not be? All these battleground states are 48-48 [percent], 49-49 [percent]," the senator said.
Recent polling shows Trump leading Harris nationally 48 percent to 47 percent. In six key battleground states, the pair are locked in a razor-thin race for the White House, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.
"This is a make-or-break moment for Harris," Zaccaro said. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen a candidate with more weight on a given moment than this candidate will have at the debate Tuesday."