Message Testing on Kamala Harris

Methodology

‍We tested 12 Kamala Harris messages with Swayable using randomized controlled trial (RCT) survey experiments to see which was best at shifting Harris vote choice. These messages were tested in English and Spanish. The tests ran from July 22 to July 26 nationally (excluding CA and NY). We collected a total of 22,289 responses, with 15,962 English responses and 6,327 Spanish responses.

Recommendations:

1. Prioritize framing the Vice President’s vision for “an America for all of us” in contrast to Trump and Republicans’ divisiveness and their extreme and out-of-touch agenda, with issue-specific proof points.
   1. In English, avoid framing VP Harris’ agenda as a continuation of the work of the Biden-Harris administration.
2. Re-introduce the Vice President to Latinos by highlighting her story as a child of immigrants and a product of the American Dream.
   1. Make the case that she’s qualified to lead by focusing on her experience as an elected official and as a prosecutor.
3. Message on immigration and health care in both languages.
   1. For immigration messaging, focus on long-term immigrants. Contrast the Biden-Harris administration’s executive action for undocumented spouses with Trump’s plans to deport millions of immigrants who have been living and working in the US for decades.
   2. For health care messaging, contrast VP Harris’ work to lower health care costs for working people, including Latinos, and her plans to protect the ACA with Trump’s prioritization of corporate interests.
4. Prioritize messaging on abortion and gun safety in English.
   1. For abortion messaging, highlight the ways the Vice President has been a champion in the fight for women’s reproductive rights, fighting to ensure “women have the freedom to control their own bodies.”
   2. For gun safety messaging, use proof points to demonstrate her history of fighting to keep communities safe paired with a vision for the future where “our children and families can live their lives without fear of violence - at school, at a concert, at the grocery store, or in their place of worship.”
5. In Spanish, incorporate reproductive freedom into VP Harris' overall vision for America, and continue to use it as a hit against Trump and Republicans' extreme and out-of-touch agenda.

Overall Findings:

• The best messaging approaches are different in each language. In Spanish, a health care contrast message is the winner (+5.6pp on Harris vote choice), while in English a contrast on abortion works best (+5.6pp).
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• The second-best message in both languages - Policy (without Project 2025) - is a contrast on the candidates’ vision for America, with specific messaging on the economy, health care, abortion, and immigration. It frames Vice President Harris as a leader that is fighting “for an America that works for all of us,” in contrast to Trump/Republicans’ extreme and out-of-touch agenda.
  • “Kamala Harris is fighting for an America for all of us - where the economy works for working people, where health care is a fundamental right, and where women have the freedom to control their own bodies. If elected, Kamala Harris will continue to lower costs and raise wages for working Americans. She will stop cuts to Social Security, protect women’s reproductive freedom, and fight to keep families safe from gun violence. If Donald Trump is elected, his extreme policies will drive up costs for working Americans, deport millions of immigrants who have been living and working in the US for decades, and further limit women’s reproductive freedom. Donald Trump and the Republican party’s agenda is too extreme and out of touch with what most Americans want. Kamala Harris is the leader we need, fighting for an America that works for all of us.”
• The New Era/Unity message also effectively increases support for Harris in English and in Spanish.
  • “Americans are tired of the chaos, ugliness, and hopelessness of the Trump era. Donald Trump wants to create a country that is only for some, not all of us. We need a leader like Kamala Harris who gives us new hope and fights for an America that belongs to all of us..”
• The best biographic messages in both languages are Qualified/Prosecutor and Child of Immigrants/American Dream.
  • “...Kamala Harris believes in the power of the American Dream because she’s seen it first hand. Her parents immigrated from India and Jamaica to pursue their education, hoping for their own shot at the American Dream. They bonded over their shared passion for justice, and the rest is history. Their American Dream story gave us the first female Vice President of the United States…”
  • “Vice President Kamala Harris has proven herself to be a strong leader - on the campaign trail, in the situation room, and in the Oval Office - with the experience needed to lead our nation. Her decades-long career in elected office, her work to pass and implement historic legislation to lower costs for the American people, and her unrivaled strength in fighting for reproductive freedom make her the most qualified person to lead and unite our country. And no one is better prepared than Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump. She prosecuted criminals like Donald Trump throughout her career. And while Donald Trump prioritized the needs of big banks, she beat the biggest banks in America, forcing them to pay homeowners $18 billion dollars…”
• Immigration messaging centered on plans for long-term immigrants is effective in both languages, but especially effective in Spanish. The immigration message we tested highlights the Biden-Harris administration’s recent executive action for undocumented spouses in contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to deport millions of immigrants who have lived and worked in the US for decades.
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• Although the abortion message alone is not a top performer on Harris vote choice for Spanish-speakers, messages that reference reproductive freedom among other issues (both Policy messages and Qualified/Prosecutor) perform exceptionally well among this audience. Importantly, the abortion message alone does not cause backlash among Spanish-speakers on vote choice and, in fact, increases Harris favorability by 4.3pp.
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• In both languages, there is some suggestive evidence that mentioning Project 2025 dampens the impact of a message that contrasts the candidates’ vision for America.
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• A message that frames Vice President Harris’ vision for America as a continuation of the work of the Biden-Harris administration was only successful at increasing Harris vote choice in Spanish, not in English.
  • “...If elected, Kamala Harris will build on the progress made during the Biden-Harris administration and continue to work toward a better future for all Americans.”
• Overall, 8 of the 12 messages tested successfully increased Harris vote choice, with no signs of backlash for any of the messages. Most messages also significantly increased Harris favorability.