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“Vice President Kamala Harris secured support Monday from a majority of delegates to the Democratic National Convention, likely ensuring she will become the party's nominee for president next month… President Joe Biden threw his support behind Harris on Sunday when he withdrew from the race amid questions about his age and health.” Reuters
Here’s our coverage of Biden’s announcement and Harris’s potential candidacy. The Flip Side
The left is cautiously optimistic about Harris.
“As a county prosecutor, San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Ms. Harris was known as focused, charismatic and effective. What has come to be perceived as sometimes crippling caution was once understood as pragmatism and deliberation — necessary qualities when building a case…
“Ms. Harris has taken risks, from bringing hard-to-win sexual-assault cases as a line prosecutor to walking away from a proposed mortgage-crisis settlement from the big banks… a move that contributed to a much larger eventual payout…
“Ms. Harris is also well positioned to connect Mr. Trump’s legal jeopardy to the threat posed by the Supreme Court, which recently announced a sweeping standard for presidential immunity that could end up shielding Mr. Trump from said indictments. [And] Since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, Ms. Harris has been the Biden administration’s leading voice on reproductive freedom… We should evaluate Ms. Harris’s full history as an attorney and politician, which makes her in many ways a natural fit for this moment.”
Nicole Allan, New York Times
“To a country that could use reassurance — indeed, to those Americans who like much of Mr. Biden’s record — Ms. Harris could start by explaining how much of a reset she would represent. A clean break from Bidenism would be a mistake… Mr. Biden built a coalition of liberals, voters of color, moderates and ex-Republicans. In the White House, Mr. Biden’s approach helped get substantial bipartisan bills over the finish line, investing in national infrastructure and critical semiconductor manufacturing…
“Ms. Harris should both resist activist demands that would push her to the left and ignore the social media micro-rebellion that will follow. Ms. Harris’s pick of running mate could be a revealing early indicator, too. Tapping a politician likely to appeal to the median voter would serve her — and the country — best.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post
Some argue, “In racing to anoint Harris as the prohibitive potential nominee, Democrats are going all in on a candidate who is unpopular, has not yet demonstrated she can do better than Biden in key swing states and who sometimes showed a political tin ear during her 2020 primary campaign… If in the coming days or weeks, Harris stumbles, Democrats will risk being seen as a party that imposed on the country another 2024 candidate who is not up to the job…
“The coming days will also test whether the electorate’s frustration with the Democratic ticket was fueled by anxiety over Biden’s age or a broader disdain brewed from frustration about economic conditions, including high prices and interest rates. Trump, after all, has usually led polling on issues that matter most to voters — from immigration to national security and the economy. If Biden’s legacy is an electoral handicap, Harris could pay the price.”
Stephen Collinson, CNN
The right is critical of both Harris’s policies and her political skills.
The right is critical of both Harris’s policies and her political skills.
“Does Kamala Harris think she’s going to win this election by firing up the Democratic base? That’s a serious question after watching her first campaign rally… In Milwaukee she sounded as if her main political task is to get Democrats enthused about finishing the pieces of Mr. Biden’s Build Back Better agenda that failed in the Democratic Senate. That means more government entitlements for healthcare, child care, and more progressive culture war…
“Swing voters? Who needs ’em. Perhaps she will grow into her candidacy and realize that her challenge is to put some distance between herself and Mr. Biden, broaden her appeal past her old California constituents, and talk directly to ‘double haters’ and moderates in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and other states in play… [Or] Perhaps Ms. Harris is a true progressive believer and will run as one—in which case no one will be more delighted than Donald Trump.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
“Gallup reported this month that 55% of U.S. adults want immigration levels reduced. That’s up significantly from 41% a year ago and the highest level since 2001… In Ms. Harris, Democrats are offering a candidate who was put in charge of addressing the border crisis and who failed so miserably at that task that more than half the country is now demanding a reduction in immigration…
“Democrats are changing the name at the top of the ticket when what’s really needed is a course correction, and someone from Ms. Harris’s wing of the party isn’t likely to provide it. Mr. Biden’s re-election bid was flailing, only partially due to his age and infirmities. He was also struggling to convince voters that his prescriptions for everything from inflation and crime to immigration and foreign policy were preferable to what could be expected in a second Trump presidency.”
Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal
“Given a year and a half to campaign, Harris could undoubtedly find some ways to separate herself from standard progressivism and go forth with her own signature proposals. She could explain where she has changed her mind from past stances, and why; she could at least implicitly criticize her own administration’s record on particular points. Doing so in just over three months will be a very tall order…
“All of this will require remarkable political skill and a sensitive feel for the political center of the electorate. If so, Harris is the wrong person for the job. In her first election to statewide office as attorney general, in 2010, she got 46.1 percent of the vote and won by 0.8 percent. As a Democrat in California. Sure, it was a red-wave year, but she was the only statewide Democrat who couldn’t manage a majority… Nothing in her record suggests any experience in or facility for appealing to moderate non-coastal Democrats, let alone independents or disaffected Republicans.”
Dan McLaughlin, National Review
