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Hillary Rodham Clinton’s call this week for more expansive action on immigration was the latest in a series of policy statements likely to appeal to her party’s liberal base. But her comments also reflect a growing feeling among Democrats that the political balance on cultural issues has shifted in their favor since her last campaign.

Mrs. Clinton is undoubtedly a more sure-footed candidate, even in the short time she has been on the trail, as The Times’s Patrick Healy noted in an article this week. Her campaign has so far stayed on message and avoided chasing media flare-ups, and Mrs. Clinton herself is more at ease taking positions on issues that she had hedged on during her last presidential bid.

But another explanation for her newfound comfort on the issues is the feeling among Democrats that public opinion on cultural issues like same-sex marriage and immigration is more aligned with their party than Republicans.

During the 2008 Democratic primary, Mrs. Clinton’s top strategist was focused on preserving her electability in a general election and not turning off the swath of self-described independents who they expected to swing the race.

But the issues on which she is now perceived to be tacking to the left — primarily on immigration and same-sex marriage — are not likely to be dangerous for her in 2016, Democratic strategists argue, because a majority of voters in the center favor her views on those topics over the positions Republicans take.

“Every policy position that Hillary Clinton has staked out so far will help her in a general election, as well as advance her campaign for the nomination,” said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster who worked on Mrs. Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “On a personal level, the fact that she is showing her passion on these issues matters, because voters of all stripes respect candidates who speak out for their beliefs.”

On immigration and same-sex marriage, in particular, the national picture has changed. About six in 10 Americans said they support President Obama’s executive action on immigration, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press. Almost an equal number in a New York Times/CBS News survey this week supported same-sex marriage.

Some of Mrs. Clinton’s critics have suggested that her embrace of a more liberal agenda is directed at keeping Elizabeth Warren, the populist senator from Massachusetts, from running and diffusing any primary challenge from her left. And Republicans are taking note of the fact that Mrs. Clinton has changed positions on some of these issues over the years — most notably trade, immigration and same-sex marriage — hoping to raise questions with voters about her character.

But her stance on immigration, for instance, has nothing to do with Ms. Warren, and is all about a contrast with Republicans.

The strategy is reminiscent of the one employed by Terry McAuliffe, her friend and 2008 campaign chairman, during his successful 2013 run for Virginia governor. The assumption heading into that race was that Mr. McAuliffe would run a centrist candidacy in an effort to appeal to more moderate voters. Instead, Mr. McAuliffe — whose campaign manager, Robby Mook, now runs Mrs. Clinton’s campaign — focused on bread-and-butter Democratic issues — like women’s health and immigration — and cast them through an economic lens.

It’s the frame Mrs. Clinton is almost certain to use, and one that has many Democrats feeling confident about her prospects.