Voter Dynamics and Candidate Appeal in Political Campaigns

This week, Matt and Brian look back at what went right at last week’s Democratic National Convention, how it maps on to the lead Harris built in her first month on the campaign trail, and what it augurs for the fall campaign:

* How exactly did Harris build a lead so quickly?

* Is maintaining or growing it really as simple as “keep on doing what you’re doing?” Is that even possible given how the dynamics of the race will change in the home stretch?

* What does peak performance look like, if not this?

Then, behind the paywall, Matt and Brian break down why her acceptance speech was such a big hit across the party. How did she manage to convince centrists and progressives alike that the speech reflected their values? Is she demonstrating the same kinds of political finesse that made Barack Obama such a successful candidate? Or are people mostly just excited to rally behind someone who seems to know how to beat Trump? Plus a granular look at why the polls are probably pretty close to the mark—meaning Harris has a better than even chance of winning, but the election will likely be close, as in 2020 and (gulp) 2016.

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Further reading:

* Brian on Democrats balancing confidence with non-complacency.

* Matt on how Harris can ride happy warrior anti-Trump vibes to victory.

* Joe Lieberman (???) had a pretty good acceptance speech, too?