Critical swing voters in battleground state reveal why Kamala Harris helps Trump's re-election chances

When Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, political experts predicted that Harris, being the first black female vice presidential nominee of a major political party, would boost Biden's standing with voters.

But selecting Harris, a progressive Democrat, may have actually harmed Biden's standing among swing voters in battleground states, according to a new focus group.

What are the details?

Following last week's vice presidential debate between Harris and Vice President Mike Pence, Axios conducted a focus group with Michigan voters who supported Barack Obama in 2012 but Donald Trump in 2016.

The majority of the swing voters said they would support Trump in this year's election because they believe Harris would eventually become president if Biden is elected.

"Biden's not going to make it four years, so Kamala Harris is going to be president and I have zero trust she can be president, so I'm just picking the lesser of two evils at this point," one voter, identified as Shelley D, said.

According to Axios, "everyone else in the group agreed" with Shelley D.

Other swing voters told Axios they felt "scared" over Harris' debate performance because she may help Biden win election, the voters said.

"I'm fearful of this woman because she knows how to strike chords with the people of America," a voter identified as Matt T said. "She's basically utilizing everything that has happened this year to attack the Trump campaign and she does it in such a way that she's making really strong points, but I don't think they're true. So she's coming across very powerful."

According to Axios, just two voters in the group of 13 will be voting for Biden — the other 11 will be sticking with Trump.

More from Axios:

These are some of the few voters for whom the vice-presidential pick has outsized importance in how they view the two tickets, and for now that's benefitting Trump.
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While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about the 2020 election in crucial states.

What do polls show?

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polling, Biden is leading Trump by almost 10% nationally.

Among battleground states — Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Arizona — Biden leads by an average of 4.5%. He leads in each state, with Pennsylvania being the largest margin and North Carolina being the smallest.