In Tuesday’s debate against Donald Trump, Kamala Harris emphasized her middle-class background, her admiration for small business owners and her plans for an “opportunity economy.” She promised tax credits for young families and support for first-time homeowners. Those attempts to put meat on the bones of her economic plan will not be enough to win the presidential election.

In the latest Times/Siena poll, Ms. Harris trailed Mr. Trump by 13 points on the economy, the issue that matters most to voters. It’s why she’s merely tied with Mr. Trump in the race overall, not crushing him.

Optimistic words and some admirable proposals aren’t enough to overcome the discontent and anger that large majorities of Americans feel about the economy. Ms. Harris must speak directly to this experience and advance a strong, coherent economic program for a freer, more fair economy.

Between broad phrases like “opportunity economy” and some policy talking points, she hasn’t found her footing on the economy yet. She sounded almost populist in North Carolina in August, mixing talk about the “dignity” of homeownership with denunciation of high prescription drug prices and calls for canceling medical debt. A few weeks later, in New Hampshire, she sounded more like the former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, promising to keep taxes on investment income significantly lower than President Biden recently proposed.

Ms. Harris needs a clearer economic message, one that can build a coalition big enough to win in November and break us out of our political stalemate. There is a way for her to do that, and she is already inching toward it.

Democrats have worked to make freedom the theme of this campaign. Ms. Harris used the word “freedom” or “freedoms” 12 times in her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, calling for reproductive freedom, freedom from gun violence, freedom to love and marry and freedom from pollution. When she rattled off a list of “what we stand for,” freedom came first.