With Kamala Harris atop the ticket, I feel pride and anxiety — mixed with a realization: She can win
As a Black man, I know that if Harris is to defeat Donald Trump, her supporters must do more than maintain their enthusiasm — they must build on it.
I’ve experienced a range of emotions in the days since President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection and threw his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.
As an American, I’ve felt the tug of history, because the second woman and the second person of color is poised to secure the nomination of a major political party.
As a lifelong Democrat, I’ve felt anxiety, because Harris’ campaign cannot afford major missteps with less than four months to go before the election.
As a Black man, I’ve felt pride, because a Black and South Asian woman is on the brink of the presidency. If Harris is able to win, like Barack Obama before her, it will serve as yet another historical benchmark for my people, and in my view, it will move America forward in ways that are long overdue.
The question now is: Can she win?
Early indications say it’s completely possible.
First, because the Biden campaign moved with almost military precision to transfer its $95 million war chest to Harris, even before Harris raised a record $126 million in just two days. Perhaps more importantly, Harris’ candidacy has generated the kind of unabashed excitement in the Democratic Party we haven’t seen since Obama won the nomination in 2008.
However, winning a nomination is not the same as winning an election.
If Harris is to defeat Donald Trump, a candidate who is backed by an entrenched and almost worshipful voter base, her supporters must do more than maintain their enthusiasm. They must build on it and do so in the face of what will soon become relentless Republican attacks.
In just the first few days of her campaign, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R., Tenn.) introduced a resolution calling for Harris’ impeachment in connection with what he called her “stark refusal to uphold the existing immigration laws.”
That phrasing is key, since Republicans, at Trump’s urging, rejected a border deal that would have provided billions in additional resources to address the issue. Be that as it may, Harris could be vulnerable on the border issue, since Biden asked Harris to work with Central American countries to address the root causes of the problem in the early days of his administration.
The attacks will likely become more personal as the campaign wears on.
We’ve already seen Trump followers inundate social media with posts aimed at Harris’ race and gender, and her husband’s Jewish faith, even as an internal GOP memo warned frontline Republicans to avoid such rhetoric.
As for Trump himself, such memos seem to mean little. In a social media post, he called the former California attorney general, former U.S. senator, and vice president “dumb as a rock.”
So far, none of those attacks have landed squarely, as Harris has quickly moved ahead of Trump, 44% to 42% in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
However, as former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah once told me, the only poll that counts is the one that takes place on Election Day. With about 100 days to go before Nov. 5, a lot can change for Harris, unless, of course, she maintains the momentum she’s gained. That will depend on whether the voters continue to buy what she’s selling.
With about 100 days to go before Nov. 5, a lot can change for Harris.
As I’ve written before, Harris is the only candidate who can run on the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration. From the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law to the Inflation Reduction Act, from the billions in student debt relief to the tremendous drop in violent crime, there is a lot to hang her hat on.
But even with robust job creation and low unemployment, inflation remains a vulnerability, as does the border.
That said, I don’t believe most of us vote based on policy. I think we vote based on the candidate. That’s why Trump instinctively thrust his fist into the air in an attempt to project strength after a failed assassination attempt.
So, if Harris is to maintain the gains she made in the first days of her campaign, she must also project strength. Not just as a prosecutor who can defeat a convicted felon, but as a leader who can pull America forward despite the desire of millions to go back.
Doing so will not be about policy. It will be about the same quality that made Obama unbeatable. Harris will have to project hope.