What does Kamala Harris mean for the Democratic Party?
- Nathan Chen
- Aug 5, 2024
- 3 min read
On July 21st, 2024, incumbent president Joe Biden stated on X (formerly Twitter) that he was choosing to decline his party’s nomination and would focus “all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” He followed up by endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the presidential candidate for his party.
In the first 48 hours of Harris’ official campaign, she has raised a record $100 million, and enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party. Harris has the support of Democrat politicians nationwide, having endorsements from every Democrat governor, 96% of Democrats and the Senate, and 94% in the House, respectively. She has also recently earned the endorsement of former President Obama.
However, Kamala’s recent success doesn’t seem to bother Republican nominee Donald Trump, as he states that he won’t debate until Democrats formally nominate Harris. The vice president commented on social media regarding Trump’s statement: “What happened to ‘any time, any place’?” Harris accused Trump of “backpedaling” after Trump backed out of the ABC debate scheduled for September 10th.
The presidential candidate appears to be the saving grace for the Democratic Party after Democrats feared that Biden’s increasing age was paving the way for a 2024 Donald Trump victory - as calls from both parties mounted for the President to step aside for the 2024 election. Biden was trailing Trump in numerous polls (around three percent), but once he dropped out, Harris was closing the cap extremely quickly and is now within about one percent of the former President.
Harris’ campaign strategy seems to focus a lot on younger voters, launching multiple social media accounts, including a brand-new TikTok account, trying to influence more members of Gen-Z and younger Millennials. What do you think about Kamala Harris’ campaign for president? What impact, if elected, do you think Harris will have on American society? Share your thoughts with us!
Works Cited
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Dorn, Sara. “Biden vs. Trump 2024 Election Polls: Trump Expands His Lead—as More Democrats Pressure Biden to Drop Out.” Forbes, 19 July 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/07/19/biden-vs-trump-2024-election-polls-trump-expands-his-lead-as-dems-pressure-biden-to-drop-out/.
---. “Trump vs. Harris 2024 Polls: Trump Virtually Tied with Harris—as Her Favorability Rating Spikes after Biden Drops Out.” Forbes, 29 July 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/07/29/trump-vs-harris-2024-polls-trump-virtually-tied-with-harris-as-her-favorability-rating-spikes-after-biden-drops-out/. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Gamio, Lazaro, et al. “Many Elected Democrats Quickly Endorsed Kamala Harris. See Who Did.” The New York Times, 22 July 2024, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/22/us/politics/kamala-harris-democrats-endorsement-list.html. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Garrison, Maya Homan and Joey. “Kamala Harris’ Fundraising Reaches a Record-Breaking $100 Million since Biden’s Exit.” USA TODAY, 23 July 2024, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/23/fundraising-for-kamala-harris-tops-100-million-shattering-records/74509043007/. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Guzman, Chad de. “Kamala Harris Is Now on TikTok.” TIME, 26 July 2024, time.com/7003817/kamala-harris-tiktok-personal-account-youth-voters-china-ban/. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Harris, Kamala. “X.com.” X (Formerly Twitter), 2024, x.com/KamalaHarris/status/1816643863131652527. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Jansen, Michael Collins, Riley Beggin, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Ken Tran, Sarah D. Wire and Bart. “Democrats Once Rallied behind Biden. Now They Fear He’s Paving the Way for Trump.” USA TODAY, 9 July 2024, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/08/joe-biden-calls-to-drop-out-2024/74330665007/. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Keith, Tamara. “The Obamas Have Endorsed Harris, Capping a Week Where Democrats Embraced Her.” NPR, 26 July 2024, www.npr.org/2024/07/26/nx-s1-5052627/obama-endorses-harris-election. Accessed 29 July 2024.
Kim, Seung Min, et al. “Harris Has Support of Enough Democratic Delegates to Become Party’s Presidential Nominee: AP Survey.” AP News, 22 July 2024, apnews.com/article/harris-biden-presidential-candidate-election-withdraw-9fbd153493cb3f088994854fe61a73e9.
Ray, Siladitya. “Trump Refuses to Debate until Democrats Formally Decide Nominee—Harris Accuses Him of Backpedaling.” Forbes, 26 July 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/07/26/trump-refuses-to-debate-until-democrats-formally-decide-nominee-harris-accuses-him-of-backpedaling/. Accessed 29 July 2024.
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