While it is best to work for a Kamala Harris victory, Black political history suggests that voters may also want to prepare for the worst. Many supporters have been caught up in the campaign spirit of “enthusiasm and joy” with favorable national polls and early voting underway in some states. Some may even believe that positive trends in swing states are indicators that “she’s got it.”

Pollsters claim to have made adjustments for the prospect of the “Bradley Effect,” where voters said they support a Black candidate, but fail to turn out or vote for the opponent. And a replay of the disappointing scenario of Hillary Clinton in 2016, where she won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, should not be discounted.

Most concerning is Harris’s failure to nurture enthusiastic support among Black men — and current efforts to make up for lost ground that come off as patronizing. Former President Barack Obama scolding Black men was unwarranted and unhelpful. Her promise to legalize marijuana and protect crypto currency in exchange for Black men’s votes reeks of desperation for a campaign that should have developed relevant policies, not symbolism, as noted by the National Association of Black Journalists.

Not long ago, Harris stated that “I’m working to earn the vote — not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black.” The puzzle is that she has repeated the same mistake as Stacey Abrams’s campaign made in her race for Georgia governor in 2022. When the Abrams campaign took men for granted, it likewise floated innuendos of misogyny for their lackluster support. The campaign later got wise and proposed a set of targeted proposals known as the “Black Men’s Agenda.”

As I have suggested before, Harris would be prudent to roll out an agenda of serious........

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