By Mayank Chhaya-
As the clamor grows within the Democratic Party for Joe Biden to step aside as its presidential candidate, his Vice President Kamala Harris has emerged as perhaps his most viable and likely alternative.
While the Biden campaign and family both steadfastly maintain as does Harris herself that the 81-year-old president should not quit despite his disastrous debate performance, in the last one week or so the Indian American has become increasingly talked up as a more credible successor.
What is helping Harris gain a greater visibility is that a new CNN poll gives her 45 percent of registered voters in a matchup with former President Donald Trump who polled at 47 percent. The fact that Harris’s number is within the margin of error has excited a lot of Democrats. Add to that the fact that there is an age difference of nearly 20 years between Trump and Harris—she is 59 and he is 78—seems to appeal to a lot of independents who want a new generation of leaders to step in.
Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina’s 6th Congressional district, the influential politician credited with having been instrumental in Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020, has said if the president were to step aside, he would support Harris. That is a big deal within the Democratic Party, especially in the context of the African American voters and Harris being partly of that heritage from her father’s side.
The Congressman also hypothetically suggested a “mini-primary” featuring Harris with other aspirants in the event Biden were to leave the stage. Clyburn’s voice may be significantly indicative of growing signs that the president may eventually end his run considering not just his debate debacle and vagaries of age but also because his favorability rating over Trump has consistently remained much lower.
This is a remarkable turnaround for Harris who has over the last three and half years been viewed as ineffectual as vice president even though she has firmly stood by him even after the debate disaster. Suddenly, many Democrats have begun to discover her many qualities such as the ability to prosecute the political case against Trump far more powerfully than Biden on the one hand and being able to project a more youthful persona for younger voters on the other. Even her reflexive habit to laugh out loud and sunny disposition are now seen as strong qualities by many in a landscape dominated by one dour candidate, namely Biden, and the other compulsively bilious and negative, namely Trump.
Heading into the July 4th holiday there are media reports that this may be the last week for Biden to decide what he wants to do and even salvage his campaign. It is not inconceivable that having decided in his mind to withdraw, Biden may time the announcement in a manner that is most politically impactful in terms of throwing Trump out of gear. At this point Trump prefers Biden over anyone else. If Harris does indeed become his Democratic rival, he would have to significantly recalibrate his approach.
One major and politically decisive factor working in Harris’s favor is the support she enjoys among women, including independents. That is because of her strong and unambiguous stand on the question of women’s reproductive rights, including and especially abortion, which have been under a grave assault both by the Republican Party as well as the conservative-dominate Supreme Court justices.
As recently as yesterday, the Associated Press reported quoted Biden as saying, “I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out” during a call with staffers on his reelection campaign, according to a top aide who posted his comment on the X social media platform.
This could well be a strategy to keep the Trump campaign guessing and on the tenterhooks. It is clear that Harris enjoys Biden’s trust and support, and should it come to the eventuality of his withdrawal, he is expected to endorse her without reservation.
