When around 14,000 Philadelphians packed Temple University's Liacouras Center for 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' first campaign rally with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the vice president made a point of describing herself as an "underdog.”
Her use of that word is quite strategic, experts say — for all the campaign's energy, she wants to make sure that her Democratic supporters don't become complacent.
Nonetheless, many of the polls released in early August have found Harris with small single-digit leads over GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Although Trump leads Harris by 2 percent in a CNBC poll released on August 8, Harris is ahead by 4 percent in a Morning Consult poll and 3 percent in polls from NPR/PBS/Marist and Survey USA. A Marquette University poll released on August 7 showed Harris with a 6 percent lead.
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But in an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark, journalist A.B. Stoddard warns that if Harris wins in November, an "entire army of Republicans" is "ready to block certification of the election at the local level."
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"Trump is no longer on track to win the election — which he has been for more than six straight months," Stoddard wrote. "Instead, the momentum, money, voter registration, volunteering, grassroots organizing, polling, and online engagement all favor the Democrats, and it looks now like Trump could easily lose.
“But that won’t happen, because Trump doesn't lose.…. No need to worry about mayhem on January 6, 2025 when Congress meets in joint session; the election deniers plan to stop a result right away if it looks like Harris is winning."
Stoddard continues, "Their goal: Refuse to certify anywhere — even a county that Trump won — and prevent certification in that state, which prevents certification of the presidential election. A Harris victory could become a nightmare."
Stoddard notes that, according to Rolling Stone, "pro-Trump election conspiracists" in key swing states like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia are working as "county election officials" and plan to refuse to certify the election results if Harris wins.
READ MORE: 'Coming home': Harris-Walz 'transformative' campaign 'ominous for Trump,' experts say
Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, publisher of Democracy Docket, told Rolling Stone, "I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election…. Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared."
Stoddard warns that "there are more than enough such individuals in these key posts to bring us to a constitutional crisis."
"So Trump knows there are millions among us who believe him when he says Democrats can only win if they cheat and who believe dark forces are at work to thwart him again," Stoddard explains. "And Trump needs to be president again. He wants to get his criminal cases thrown out, and to stay out of jail. There is nothing he won't try."
A.B. Stoddard's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.