In the five days since Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched at warp speed, the 2024 race has been reshaped, giving Democrats renewed hope of preventing a second Donald Trump presidency.
Bright green, pro-Harris memes have flooded social media. Fundraising surged, with Harris’ campaign reporting $126 million raised between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening. Additionally, Democrats showed a strong willingness to support her campaign, with over 100,000 people signing up to volunteer and more than 2,000 applying for campaign jobs, according to Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. Recent polls now show that a previously Trump-led race has no clear leader.
This indicates how much of the Democratic Party desired a change at the top of the ticket and how eager donors and loyalists are to support a candidate who can consistently and aggressively challenge Trump.
Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber described the energy in his state, a key battleground, as "electric."
"I’ve never seen energy like this at this point in an election cycle," he said.
Harris’ campaign message, similar to President Joe Biden’s, focuses on defending women’s reproductive rights, rejecting "trickle-down economic policies," and standing up for democratic norms and values. However, Harris’ energetic performances on the campaign trail have highlighted the limitations of the 81-year-old Biden.
The strength of Harris’ campaign launch has even surprised some former Biden campaign staffers, who suddenly found themselves working for Harris on Sunday.
It’s too early to determine how Harris’ entry will alter a race that seemed destined to be a Biden-Trump rematch. Harris has yet to choose a running mate or launch her first television advertisement, and the Democratic National Convention is just weeks away.
Harris and Trump could potentially debate, a showdown that would draw millions of viewers and possibly change the race’s trajectory.
While Trump said he hasn't committed to debating Harris, the vice president confirmed she would participate in the September 10 debate originally scheduled between Trump and Biden by ABC.
“I think that the voters deserve to see the split screen in this race on a debate stage, so I’m ready. Let’s go,” she told reporters after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a campaign trip to Houston.
This creates an unsettled race, though Harris shows signs of improving on Biden’s weaknesses among younger, non-White, and female voters.
Trump, following an assassination attempt and his party’s case at the Republican National Convention last week, was in a close race with Harris – 49% to her 46% – according to a CNN/SSRS poll of registered voters released Wednesday.
Half of Harris’ supporters in the new poll (50%) said their vote was more in support of her than against Trump, a significant shift from the Trump-focused dynamic of the Biden-Trump race. Among Biden’s supporters in CNN’s June poll, only 37% said their vote was primarily to support the president. About three-quarters of Trump supporters (74%) in the latest survey said they voted to express support for him rather than oppose Harris.
The shift toward affirmative support for Harris was particularly strong among young voters, voters of color, and women – groups that generally back Democrats but were seen as weak spots for the Biden campaign.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released Thursday showed similar results, with Trump at 48% and Harris at 46% among registered voters nationwide. Harris showed increased support compared to Biden among young and non-White voters.
Harris is just beginning what will be the most grueling 102-day sprint of her political career. The missteps from her 2020 Democratic primary bid, along with the verbal gaffes and staff upheavals that marred the early period of her vice presidency, could resurface as she strives to show her growth since those stumbles. Additionally, she will face the same challenges Biden did in uniting the party factions divided over the war in Gaza.
Despite these challenges, O’Malley Dillon argued in her memo that Harris at the top of the ticket would broaden the electoral map for Democrats. While Biden’s campaign focused on winning the “blue wall” states – Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – Harris could have stronger appeal among young Black and Latino voters, potentially making her more competitive in Sun Belt battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.
“We intend to play offense in each of these states and have the resources and campaign infrastructure to do so,” O’Malley Dillon said in the memo.
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