Vice President Kamala Harris, born to an Indian mother, who has migrated to the US, and a Jamaican father, tops the list of possibilities if Biden drops out of the race. Amid the uncertainty, discussion among top Democrats has shifted to the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris potentially leading the party’s ticket in the upcoming election, CNN reported. Many party figures, operatives, and donors are increasingly convinced that Biden’s efforts to revive his campaign may not be enough. Close allies expressed skepticism about his ability to lead a successful re-election bid, according to CNN’s conversations with many Democratic politicians and strategists.
Some polls favor Harris
Recent polls show Harris could do better than Biden against Trump, the Republican nominee, although he will face a tight contest. A CNN poll released on July 2nd found voters favoring Trump over Biden by six percentage points, or 49% to 43%. Harris also trails Trump, 47% to 45%, within the margin of error. They also found independents Harris 43%-40% over Trump, and moderate voters from both parties preferred him 51-39%.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll following last week’s televised debate between Trump and a shaky Biden found Harris and Trump nearly tied, with 42% backing him and 43% backing him. Only former first lady Michelle Obama, who has never expressed interest in entering the race, is polling higher among possible alternatives to Biden.
An internal poll released by the Biden campaign after the debate showed Harris with the same odds as Biden to defeat Trump, with 45% of voters saying they would vote for him versus 48% for Trump, Reuters reported. Influential Democrats include US Representative Jim Clyburn, who is key to Biden’s 2020 win; Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York congressman and senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus; and Summer Lee, a House Democrat from Pennsylvania have signaled Harris would be the best choice to lead the ticket if Biden chooses to step down. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also personally alerted lawmakers, a congressional aide told Reuters.
Harris is taken seriously, with two Republican donors telling Reuters they would rather Trump face Biden than him. “I’d rather have Biden stay in place” than be replaced by Harris, said Pauline Lee, a fundraiser for Trump in Nevada after the June 27 debate, who said Biden had proven himself “incompetent.” will encourage members of the Black, brown, and Asian Pacific coalition … they will immediately draw the disillusioned youth of our country back into the fold,” said Tim Ryan, a former Democratic Congressman from Ohio, in a recent op-ed. . Women suburban Democrats and Republicans may prefer him than Trump or Biden, he said. The Democratic Party can’t win national elections,” Dmitri Mehlhorn, a fundraiser and adviser to LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, told Reuters. “That’s a challenge he’ll have to overcome if he’s nominated.”
Officials have begun reprimanding donors who are skeptical of Harris’ electability, urging them to rally around the candidacy. Plans are reportedly underway to persuade Biden to quickly endorse Harris, release his delegation, and shore up support for him. This strategic move aims to prevent potential internal conflict over the leadership of the Democratic ticket, as reported by CNN.
‘Harris can’t save Democrats’
Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian and professor who has correctly predicted nine of the last 10 elections, has some advice for Democrats. He said that Biden is the best person for the upcoming election contest and that Harris cannot save the Democrats. Litchtman previously said a 90-minute debate was not enough to judge a candidate whose track record including pulling the U.S. economy out of danger and creating more jobs would weigh in voters’ minds.
Allan Lichtman has said that there are 13 key indicators in the form of true or false questions and if the party fails in six or more of the 13 indicators, they lose the election. He said that Biden has passed in seven main indicators including incumbency, no significant primary contest, no recession during the election, a strong long-term base economy based on real per capita economic growth compared to the average of the previous two terms, the main policy. change, there are no major scandals directly related to the uncharismatic president and challenger.
By eliminating Biden and giving the nomination to Harris, Lichtman believes that the Democrats will lose the two keys secured by Biden: the incumbency and the primary contest. He said Democrats have a high chance of losing the election if that happens.
The only way for Democrats seeking to replace Biden with Harris is for Biden to step down as US President and for Harris to take over the presidency within a few months. This will then allow him to get the lock of incumbency.
Hope floats in Kamala Harris’s ancestral village
In 2021, the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram, where Harris’s grandfather was born more than a century ago, is celebrating his inauguration with fireworks, free chocolate, posters and calendars featuring the vice president. Residents of the village want more this time, because of the news from the US that they do on TV and social media, Reuters reported.
“There will be bigger celebrations this time because he will be the president,” K. Kaliyaperumal, a member of the village committee, told Reuters. He said that if he was nominated, the reaction would be like that of the Indian cricket team, whose recent World Cup win had sent the nation into a frenzy.
Harris visited Thulasendrapuram when he was five years old and has fond memories of walking with his grandfather on the beach in Chennai and where his family later settled. But he hasn’t been back since becoming vice president.
“Residents were expecting a visit, a statement or at least a mention of the village, but it didn’t happen,” G. Manikandan, a shopkeeper in Thulasendrapuram, where about 2,000 people live, told Reuters. “A lot of people hung calendars with his picture outside the house when he was vice president. He’s not famous anymore. But now he’s coming back.”
(With input from agencies)
