WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign plans to attack former President Donald Trump more aggressively in the remaining weeks before the November election, a new phase aimed at swaying the small number of undecided voters to its advantage, according to five Harris officials. Campaign officials.

The change is being driven in part by internal campaign data that shows harsher anti-Trump messaging could persuade some still-uncertain Americans to support Harris, three of the campaign officials said. The effort is intended to incorporate new ads and tougher language into the campaign that highlight Trump’s past actions and rhetoric that Harris officials hope will dissuade those voters from supporting the former president.

Follow live politics coverage here

“We’re going to create more contrast everywhere we can,” Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign, said in an interview. Given Trump’s own rhetoric on the campaign trail, Richmond added: “I don’t think you can be expected to criticize him with kid gloves.”

Focusing more on negative campaigning is a strategic shift for Harris. While she has routinely been critical of Trump since her candidacy in July and before that as President Joe Biden’s running mate, much of the focus of her campaign has been on defining her and explaining her record to voters.

Harris campaign officials said they intend to continue to explain her policy positions, background and plans should she win the presidency – and the increasing spread of negative messages is often a natural progression in a presidential campaign as candidates make their closing arguments.

But emphasizing what Harris campaign officials see as Trump’s biggest vulnerabilities is seen as perhaps one of the only ways to finally win over some voters who have yet to settle in a static race that Democrats are trying to push their way have decided.

“The numbers aren’t moving,” a Harris campaign official said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

A second Harris campaign official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said: “Basically, our messaging in a month will be a lot more about the vote in this election.”

“There will be a shift,” the official said.

In fact, the Harris campaign has already begun to illustrate that approach, including in two new ads this week: one calling his tenure “unpredictable, destructive and divisive” and another raising questions about his fitness for office , considering that he is 78 years old.

The campaign specifically cited internal research showing that “demonstrating that Trump, unlike Harris, is unstable” would be “the most effective message to the target voters” they are trying to reach and persuade in the final stages.

And on Friday, in a campaign speech at the Redford Township Fire Department in Detroit, Harris criticized Trump for not being a friend of union members.

“Donald Trump’s track record is a disaster for working people,” Harris said. “He’s trying to denounce people all over our country, but we know the facts and we know the truth. He is an existential threat to the American labor movement.”