Haunted by 2016, some Michigan Democrats worry that Harris remains ill-defined in swing state

EASTPOINTE, Mich. (AP) — Bill Clinton stood with Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell outside a suburban Detroit grocery store two days before the 2016 election when it was clear to both that Hillary Clinton would lose the state. “They didn’t listen to you,” Dingell recalled the former president saying.

Democrats in the state have seemed ascendant since, controlling the governorship, both Senate seats and the state legislature. But some party leaders here are worried that trend is not enough to put distance between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Harris’ campaign is banking on the fact that they have spent considerably more money than Trump on ads and have a stronger voter outreach program.

Michigan is a state that Harris almost certainly must win to capture the White House, and Democrats’ concerns are rooted in the fear that polls don’t register all Trump supporters both here and in other battleground states as the campaign enters a critical final phase.

“Anyone who’s from Michigan knows that, if you believe the polling, like, I got a bridge I’m going to sell you somewhere,” said Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democratic Senate nominee.

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