Kamala Harris was great in the debate. Will that be enough to win? | Bernie Sanders

With the whole world watching, Kamala Harris did an extremely effective job at Tuesday night’s debate in demonstrating how absolutely unfit Donald Trump is to become president of the United States.

She exposed him for what he is: a hateful and vindictive man, a pathological liar, someone who thrives on divisiveness and xenophobia, and a candidate who has absolutely no vision for the future of the country. (After nine years as a candidate and president he is now working on a “concept” as to how to address the healthcare crisis in our country. Really?)

Democrats are rightly euphoric about her excellent performance. This is going to be a very close election and the vice-president had a great night.

But, before we begin to make plans for her inauguration, we must confront an important reality: the vast majority of the American people already know Donald Trump very well.

They have seen him as president for four years and as a candidate in three elections. They are more than aware that he lies all the time, that he supported an insurrection to overthrow American democracy, and that he has been convicted of 34 felonies.

And, yet, roughly half of American voters still support him – including a strong majority of working-class voters.

It is important that the vice-president continues to define and expose Trump. But it may not be enough to secure a victory. Voters are hungry for a candidate that will deliver meaningful, material change to their lives.

I applaud Harris for laying out the fundamentals of her economic vision: she promised to cap the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans at $2,000, address the severe housing crisis we face by building 3m units of affordable housing, eliminate medical debt, and take on corporate price gouging that has made it impossible for working families to afford groceries and other basic necessities.

These are valuable policies. I believe, however, that her chances of winning improve if she expands that agenda to include popular solutions to the most important economic and political realities facing this country.

The American people want change, and that’s what she must deliver.

Here are just a few ideas that are not only excellent policy, but are extremely popular among voters across the political spectrum:

1. We have more income and wealth inequality in this country than ever before. Never in our history have so few owned so much. Three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck while the very rich continue to get richer, and 82% of Americans – including 73% of Republicans – want the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share in taxes.

2. We have a corrupt political system in which dark money Super Pacs, funded and controlled by billionaires like Elon Musk and Timothy Mellon, put billions of dollars into our elections. The total cost of the 2024 election is expected to come in at over $10bn, more than any in history. Democrats, Republicans and independents understand that we can hardly be called a vibrant democracy when a handful of the wealthiest people in this country – including Democratic billionaires – can spend hundreds of millions to elect the candidates of their choice. Seven in 10 Americans think there should be limits on election spending. We must overturn Citizens United and establish publicly funded elections.

3. In the richest country on earth it’s absurd that 75% of seniors who need hearing aids don’t have them, 65% of seniors don’t have dental insurance and eyeglass frames manufactured for as little as $10 cost over $230. Some 84% of Americans – including 83% of Republicans – want to expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision. The vice-president should run on this.

4. At a time when about half of American households over the age of 55 have no retirement savings and one out of five seniors is trying to live on less than $13,500 a year, we must expand social security so that everyone in this country can retire with the dignity they have earned and everyone with a disability can live with the security they need. We can do that by lifting the cap on social security taxes, so that the very wealthy pay the same tax rate as working-class families.

The American people are united in supporting these popular ideas. They are important policies. They are winning politics. And they are particularly popular in the battleground states that Harris needs to win.

In other words: campaigning on an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working families is a winning formula for Kamala Harris and Democrats in November.

By embracing bold ideas that address the day-to-day crises facing America’s working families, Harris can not only win the White House, but create a Democratic party that is responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans.

• Bernie Sanders is a US Senator and chairman of the health education labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont, and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress.