Supported by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris is not the automatic candidate among Democrats for the presidential campaign. While her popularity rating is down, other names are circulating to face Donald Trump.
Will Kamala Harris be the Democratic Party’s fallback? This is the big question of the next few hours: who will replace Joe Biden in the Democratic Party in the race for the White House? After the current American president announced on Sunday, July 21, 2024, that he was giving up the campaign and a potential re-election, the party chaired by Jaime Harrisson will have to quickly find another figure to challenge Donald Trump. Joe Biden, for his part, did not leave the mystery for very long. A few minutes after announcing his withdrawal via a message on the X network, the current president announced that he supported Kamala Harris’ candidacy.
Joe Biden’s vice president and running mate for a new term, Kamala Harris, is indeed the logical favorite. If only for questions of financing since the budget planned for Joe Biden’s campaign could be transferred to his running mate, a point that is already being debated and that the Republicans could try to counter in court. This rapid financial contribution would be a significant advantage because it would not be the case for another candidate, the American press recalled in recent days.
Another advantage is the support she has within the party, and in particular that of its major figures like Barack Obama or the Clintons, Bill and Hillary. Their popularity and their possible commitment to her with a displayed support are announced as significant advantages at the time of launching a quick campaign. The nomination of the future Democratic candidate will have to be made official and formalized at the next party convention on August 19. That is in less than a month, which leaves little time for a possible internal response to be organized…
His age and his career as assets
The central question remains: can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump, who has a convinced electorate and is further strengthened by the consequences and combative image displayed after the assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania? The American billionaire’s team has already sharpened its weapons against Kamala Harris: management of immigration, record in California where Kamala Harris was a prosecutor, personality and unflattering nickname (“Laughing Kamala”, to mock her bursts of laughter, considered to be a poor sign of seriousness)… The arguments are already ready.
Conversely, Kamala Harris has several aces up her sleeve to counter Donald Trump and turn the campaign around. Her personal journey is impressive and the vice president knows how to remind people of this. “I am the empirical proof of the promise of America,” she regularly explains, she the African-American from an academic background who became the first woman to be elected district attorney of San Francisco, before becoming attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017.
Her integrity, with her pedigree as a prosecutor, in the face of a Republican candidate who has already been convicted by the courts and is still being prosecuted in several cases, are shaping up to be campaign arguments, like her energy, already demonstrated in the Senate when she emerged as one of the faces of the opposition to… Donald Trump during the Republican magnate’s term.
Her energy but also her youth could end up seducing the Democratic camp. At 59 years old, the possible candidacy of Kamala Harris would send to oblivion the announced duel between the two seniors Biden-Trump, both over 80 years old. Enough to mobilize the Democratic electorate more? In polls published in recent days while a possible withdrawal of Joe Biden was already making headlines, in the event of a duel between Trump and Kamala Harris, the gap was only two points in favor of the Republican candidate. An insufficient margin for Trump before possible debates and speeches by his possible future opponent.
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08:12 – The Grechten Whitmer option, progressive and anti-gun
Vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) since 2021, Michigan Governor Grechten Whitmer enjoys a good popularity rating. 51% of voters in the state would like her to be president in the future, and up to 79% among Democrats according to a poll published last March. A state with a large working-class population and large black and Arab communities, which Joe Biden had difficulty attracting. Another good point for this 52-year-old woman.
A progressive, anti-gun advocate who favors repealing the abortion ban, she is seen as an alternative to Kamala Harris. She has become known for being the target of a kidnapping plot by a far-right militia.
07:59 – A reputation for damaging firmness among Democrats
Already publicly supported by Joe Biden, the first senator from South Asia is not, however, an automatic candidate for the White House, nor the designated replacement for the current President of the United States to face Donald Trump in the next presidential election.
Kamala Harris has a reputation for firmness from her career as a magistrate that some progressives could criticize her for, particularly regarding crime issues. For example, she is criticized for having severely punished minor crimes such as cannabis use, which particularly affects minorities. In addition, her popularity rating is at an all-time low. According to a Yougov poll last June, 33% of Americans believe that she is qualified enough to hold the office of president, enough to give Democrats pause. To the point of turning to another candidate for the election next November?