Even though logistically US Vice-President Kamala Harris is the natural heir to the presidential nomination since she was Joe Biden’s running mate, it remains unclear if she will become the nominee of the Democratic Party or what course the party shall take.
Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison issued a statement shortly after US President Joe Biden dropped out of the race which said that the Democrats will “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November”.
The Kamala Harris campaign team have started the preparations and the Biden-Harris campaign on Sunday formally amended filings with the Federal Election Commission saying that it is renaming its principal committee “Harris for President”, US-broadcaster CNN said. They said that the name of the committee is “different than previously reported”.
“Vice President Harris is now a candidate for United States President in the 2024 election and will henceforth be conducting campaign activities only in pursuit of that office,” the principal committee of the Biden-Harris campaign said in a letter filed with the commission.
The broadcaster said that some of Kamala Harris’ have begun taking steps to secure her path to the nomination but some Democrats have stopped short of securing her path to the nomination and have called for an ‘open nomination process’.
Campaign officials and allies have already made hundreds of calls on her behalf, urging delegates to next month’s Democratic Party convention to join in nominating her for president in the November 5 election against Republican Donald Trump.
HURDLES KAMALA HARRIS FACES
But some Democrats were concerned about a Harris candidacy, in part because of the weight of a long history of racial and gender discrimination in the United States, which has not elected a woman president in its nearly 250 year history.
They are also worried that Kamala Harris struggled throughout her vice presidency in defining her role while dealing with tough issues like voting rights and migration from Central America.
Her attempt to strengthen the Voting Rights Act failed in Congress and she encountered criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives faulted her for not dedicating sufficient time to the border, while progressives took issue with her stern message to migrants, “Do not come”, in a speech.
Last year some Democrats were worried that negative views of Harris could hurt the Biden-Harris ticket, forcing prominent Democrats to urge the party to not undermine her.
WHAT DO POLLS SAY ABOUT A HARRIS-TRUMP MATCHUP?
Polling shows that Harris performs no better statistically than Biden had done against Trump.
In a head-to-head match-up, Harris and Trump were tied with 44% support each in a July 15-16 Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.
Biden’s campaign had $95 million on hand at the end of June, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission. Trump’s campaign ended the month with $128 million. Campaign finance law experts disagree on how easily that money could be shifted to a Harris-led campaign.
Harris’ campaign had raised $49.6 million since Biden’s exit, a campaign spokesperson said on Monday.
WHO ALL ARE BACKING KAMALA HARRIS?
Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Democratic Senate candidates including Andy Kim of New Jersey, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin have already rallied behind Kamala Harris.
Harris spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a potential vice presidential running mate, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. Potential Harris challengers such as California Governor Gavin Newsom backed the vice president.
Others who backed Kamala Harris are Colorado Governor Jared Polis, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, US Senator Patty Murray of Washington state, U.S. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, and US Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
Former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who served as secretary of State under President Barack Obama, also endorsed Harris in a statement.
All 50 Democratic party state chairs will support Harris as the party’s new presidential nominee, Reuters said.
The Democratic delegations to the nominating convention from Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina and North Carolina said they support Harris.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, an adviser to Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder and a major Democratic donor, called Harris “the American dream personified,” noting she is the daughter of immigrants.
“She is also toughness personified, rising from my home town of Oakland California to become the top prosecutor of the state. With Scranton Joe stepping back, I cannot wait to help elect President Harris.”
BARACK OBAMA, PELOSI QUIET
State Democratic party chairs on Sunday also threw their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party’s new presidential nominee but some powerful party members, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stayed quiet and also Barack Obama, the former US President.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who praised Biden’s decision to step aside, also was silent on who should be the Democrats’ nominee.
US Senator Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to drop his reelection run, called for an open nomination process.
The Democrats should have “an open process so that whoever our nominee is, including Kamala, has the strength of having a process that shows the consensus position of the party,” Welch said. “The debate in the Democratic Party is who can carry on the legacy of President Biden and defeat Trump.”
Harris supporters told the broadcaster that they were working behind the scenes for the last week to secure support from delegates.
Biden has spent the last several months accruing nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates by winning primary elections in US states and territories.
Those delegates would normally vote for him to be the party’s official presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention, which is to take place Aug. 19-22, but the rules do not bind or force them to do so. Delegates can vote with their conscience, which means they could throw their vote to someone else.
“We have been whipping delegates for the last week,” a strategist with the Democrats and who worked on Harris’ 2020 campaign told CNN.
