While national polls show growing enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ candidacy, a new Deseret News/HarrisX national poll shows continued pessimism toward the state of the country and the economy.

According to the poll, only 27% of U.S. voters say the country is on the right track, compared to 62% who say it is on the wrong track. When asked specifically about the U.S. economy, the figures are similar: 30% of U.S. voters say the economy is on the right track, while 61% say it is on the wrong track.

When asked what is the most important issue facing the country today, two of the most frequent responses dealt with the economy: price increases and inflation (30%) and the economy and jobs (26%). Immigration (30%) was also in the top three.

Such polling figures often reflect poorly on the incumbent administration. But Harris, three weeks into her campaign as the presumptive Democratic nominee, has so far managed to avoid the baggage that would traditionally accompany such an unpopular performance on the economy.

Harris unveiled parts of her economic plan during a speech Friday. She pledged to work with Congress to ban “price gouging” on food and groceries; proposed assistance for first-time homebuyers; and pledged a $6,000 tax credit for families with a child under the age of 1.

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Many of Harris’ proposals mirror President Joe Biden’s 2020 policy agenda and the priorities of the Biden-Harris administration, like caps on prescription drug prices and providing health care subsidies.

And although the White House emphasized there “has not been any daylight” between Harris’ and Biden’s policy priorities over the past 3½ years, Harris’ approval rating in the poll outpaces Biden’s: 46% of respondents strongly or somewhat approve of the job Harris is doing, while only 40% approve of Biden’s performance.

During the four-day convention, that discrepancy will come into focus. Harris will either sell voters on the victories of the Biden-Harris administration, or she will convince them she is offering a new, better way.

So far, the Harris campaign has attempted to do both: she has continually called herself the “underdog” in the race and promised change, even as the Democratic platform still lists Biden’s name

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