Kamala Harris, by most available measures, has run a successful campaign so far. Since she became the presumptive Democratic nominee in late July, she’s gone from losing most national polls against Donald Trump to leading them by an average of about 3 points. Her “favorability” numbers have risen sharply, she’s currently the slight favorite in most election forecasts, and according to a wide majority of viewers, she was the “winner” of the Sept. 10 debate.

She’s only been successful by most available measures, though. Harris has consistently trailed Trump when voters are asked who they trust more to handle two of the race’s most high-profile issues: immigration and the economy.

There may not be much she can do on immigration, given the baked-in median-voter perception that Republicans are the “tougher” of the two parties and therefore the most capable of handling anything that involves security or “law and order.” The economy, though, is a different matter.

It’s true that voters have long associated the Republican Party with the business community and that, his actual record aside, Trump is perceived by many Americans as a successful entrepreneur and “builder” who intuitively understands how growth works. But the GOP doesn’t have a permanent polling advantage on the issue.

In the late 1990s, as Bill Clinton presided over high employment and a surging stock market, voters told Gallup that they had more faith in Democrats than Republicans to manage the economy. Barack Obama was trusted more on economics than John McCain, and even managed to fight Mitt Romney to a draw on the issue in 2012, despite Romney’s record in business and an unemployment rate that was still at almost 8 percent on Election Day.

Harris doesn’t face economic conditions that are particularly severe, historically speaking. Unemployment is just over 4 percent, the stock market is up more than 20 percent on the year, and both inflation and interest rates are falling. Nor is it unheard of for popular modern Democrats to have “pro-business” reputations. In fact, Harris has chosen one of them—Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—as her running mate, and the summary of her economic platform she delivered during a Wednesday speech in Pittsburgh suggests she is taking cues from his approach in what is not just the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but the headquarters of Land O’Lakes Inc.

What did Walz’s approach look like? Before he became the VP nominee, he was most known nationally for a photo in which a gaggle of adorable schoolchildren embrace him while he signs a bill guaranteeing free breakfasts and lunches to........

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