Less than four months to the U.S election, Joe Biden realizing that it was not about him but the people, made the hardest decision any politician can make.
He stepped aside and firmly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Presidential candidate for the democrats, giving his party a fighting chance against Donald Trump.
Other endorsements flowed from Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, the first major female presidential nominee, and prominent US senators, a wide swath of House representatives, members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus as well as all 50 state Democratic party chairs.
Senior Democrats, including some of those who have been named as possible contenders for the presidential or vice-presidential nomination, also endorsed Harris for the nomination within hours of Biden’s announcement.
However, Biden’s endorsement does not automatically make Harris the Democrats’ nominee.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Haris said in a statement.
It remains unclear if Harris will become the nominee, or what process the Democratic Party would take to select an alternative. It will now be up to the delegates to the party’s national convention to choose their candidate.
Democratic National Committee chairman, Jaime Harrison said in a statement that in the coming days the party will “undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”
Jaime Harrison
The party’s nomination event falls August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois.
If nominated, Harris would make history as the nation’s first Black and South Asian woman to become a major party’s presidential nominee.
Early signs suggest that Kamala Harris, if nominated, has work to do to keep swing states from falling into Donald Trump’s hands.
A poll taken in one of the swing states just prior to Biden dropping out shows Harris trailing behind Donald Trump, the Republican Presidential Nominee.
In a poll conducted from July 9-18 surveying 1,000 Georgians, Trump leads Harris by a 51-46 count.
One percent of those surveyed said they would vote for a third-party candidate, while another two percent are undecided.
Polling conducted after the Trump assassination attempt and before Biden dropped out of the race had Harris hypothetically behind Trump one point in Pennsylvania and winning by five points in Virginia.
While that is a poor result for Harris, one thing to hang her hat on is that she polled better than her boss with the same voters.
She polled better than Biden among women, younger voters and Black voters.
Harris Capable Of A More “Energetic Campaign”
While Harris’s nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate would be historic and could mobilize support among specific demographics, her candidacy appeals to a wide range of voters based on her qualifications, policies, and ability to address key issues facing the country.
She has the potential to generate an overperformance among women, particularly women of color, while Trump will try to do the same among white men.
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and longtime congressional aide, opined that Harris will be able to mount “a more energetic campaign with excitement from younger voters and people of colour.”
A former prosecutor and California Attorney General as well as a former US Senator, Harris would be able to use “her years of litigation experience to effectively prosecute Trump in the court of public opinion,” Mollineau told a news agency.
Also, Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist, stated that it would be a mistake for the Trump campaign to assume Harris could serve as a simple stand-in for Biden, because of her potential appeal to different parts of the electorate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren expressed confidence in Harris’ ability to win.
“She has been Vice President for three-and-a-half years now. She’s been on the front lines. she is now battle tested and ready to go,” Warren said.
READ ALSO: Stanbic Bank and Georgetown University Forge Partnership to Advance Digital Innovation
