Democrats are undervaluing Kamala Harris as presidential candidate: Patricia Lopez

In the midst of speculation about President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris stands as an underutilized asset. Despite her strong public presence and advocacy on key issues, she remains overshadowed. As Biden's party support fractures, Harris' dynamic potential could be pivotal, yet she is held back to keep the focus on Biden. With the party in crisis, elevating Harris may be crucial to their success..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Join us for BizNews' first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA's gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here..By Patricia Lopez.The casting about by some Democrats for another — seemingly any other — candidate who might replace embattled President Joe Biden has taken on unsavory notes, particularly since the most prominent names raised are White governors. .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Whether or not Biden stays in the race, Vice President Kamala Harris may be one of the ticket's best assets. But she is being underutilized, and that's a mistake..Take a look at Harris' public campaign schedule this week, as a race where "democracy is on the line" enters its final leg. As the chief surrogate for President Joe Biden — who has been busy with the NATO summit much of the week — Harris' calendar should have been packed from morning until night..Instead she made two stops in Las Vegas on Tuesday, including one to launch a special outreach to Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander voters (Harris is part-South Asian). Wednesday afternoon she spoke at the annual convention of the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. in Dallas, followed by two events Thursday in North Carolina. On Saturday, Harris was scheduled to do more Asian American outreach at a town hall in Philadelphia. .Compare that with the human whirlwind that has been First Lady Jill Biden lately. The more embattled her husband is, the busier she gets..Bent on convincing voters her husband is "all in," she squeezed in events in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia — all on Monday — before heading off to help the president host the NATO summit..The first lady will be in Pennsylvania, too, on Saturday. But, in a bit of a brawler move, she will travel to Pittsburgh for an event that starts just as Donald Trump is kicking off his rally nearby, in the Greater Pittsburgh area. .Team Biden understandably sees its priority as promoting and protecting the president's public image, even to the point of stage-managing his appearances. Having a far younger, more dynamic running mate barnstorming the country could easily show up an octogenarian president who recently told a group of Democratic governors that he intended to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. to get more sleep. (Asked about the comment during his Thursday night press conference, Biden denied he had said it.).Read more: 🔒 Kamala Harris is the future of the Democrats no matter what: Erika D. Smith.But decisions have consequences. As Biden's support in the party fractures, one party insider connected to the Democratic National Committee expressed concern that Harris has been held back to ensure the spotlight remained firmly on the president in his fight to remain the presumptive nominee. "They haven't built up Harris as much as they should have," the party insider said, "and now they may need her.".After a rocky start as vice president, Harris has proven adroit at both advancing the Democratic message and vigorously defending Biden. She talks about abortion rights and reproductive freedom — Democrats' most advantageous issue — straight from her gut in a way that connects with women..In a 2023 New York Times profile of Harris, LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, said some in the party and the White House "are worried about the age contrast" between Harris, 59, and Biden, 81. "And they are worried about Kamala outshining Biden," she said. In that same profile, California Senator Laphonza Butler, who previously worked as an adviser to Harris, said some critics in the party were so harsh as to be disrespectful. "And the thing that makes it more disrespectful is that we're talking about a historic V.P. who has been a high-quality partner and asset to the country," Butler said..There have always been those in the party who quietly fret that a Black woman might present too much of an electoral challenge as president, especially against Trump, who considers white supremacists part of his base. And yet it was Biden himself who insisted on picking a Black woman as a running mate, settling on Harris. At his Thursday news conference Biden defended Harris, saying he wouldn't have chosen her if he didn't think she could be president. But in a mixed signal, he added, "I think I'm the most qualified person to run for president." .Black women are the Democratic Party's most reliable voters and are credited with helping Biden win in 2020. They are now some of his most devoted supporters, standing by him even as others flee. But should Biden withdraw, a party decision to bypass Harris would be seen as an affront, alienating Black voters and other crucial elements of the Democratic base. .And yet, the most floated alternatives to Biden are all White men, with the exception of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "It's not a good look for us," the DNC insider said. Among those most frequently mentioned are California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Aside from Newsom, none have the national profile that Harris has already established and none would be able to legally take over the considerable campaign war chest of the Biden-Harris ticket..A Harris candidacy wouldn't be a sure thing. Neither is a Biden reelection. But as a woman, Harris' candidacy would be historic in a way that only Whitmer could equal. It has the potential to galvanize women in the same way that Hillary Clinton did. (Reminder, Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by 3 million) while energizing young voters and voters of color, whose support for Biden has fallen off..Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota and an expert on presidential campaigns, said the Democratic party faces "some excruciating choices." It's clear to him, he said, that the Biden campaign has chosen to keep Harris "under wraps because having Harris as the face of the Biden campaign would be a disastrous political decision for Biden." The contrast between the aging president and his vibrant, dynamic running mate would be too great, he said..Read more: 🔒 FT: Is this Kamala Harris's moment? VP tops the list of Biden replacements.By contrast, he said, putting the first lady on the campaign trail has little downside. She keeps the Biden name out there, the attention on her husband, yet poses no threat herself..Sadly, that reflects a campaign— and perhaps a candidate — more fixated on what's good for Biden rather than what's best for the country. The fissures opening in Biden's support grow wider by the day. Even as he helmed the successful NATO summit and got through Thursday's news conference — his first in eight months — with only a couple of gaffes (including calling Harris Vice President Trump) more top Democrats are going wobbly..It's important to note that Harris has been busy in her job. She oversees the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, has met with families on potential gun reforms and gathered hundreds of officials, advocates and others together on reproductive, maternal health and economic issues. She has made, according to her office, 67 trips to 22 states this year — a little under three trips a week. .Were Harris to become the nominee, her sharp prosecutor's mind would easily pick apart Trump's lies and rambling word salad. Her vigorous appearance would upend Trump's strategy to run against a rival he has tried to paint as old and decrepit.. At her Thursday stop Harris thundered a stern retort to Trump's line about letting Russia "do whatever the hell they want," saying, "And he wants to be president of the United States? As Trump bows down to dictators, he makes America weak and that's disqualifying!".There is evidence that Team Biden may be coming around to reality. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the campaign's analytics team had begun surveying Harris' chances as the nominee. Publicly the campaign continues to insist that no other Democrat outperforms Biden against Trump..Here is a test for the Biden campaign. If Biden stays in the race, do they have the courage and confidence to make maximum use of Harris, to fully show what she can do, to run her ragged between now and November in the goal of staving off a Trump win?.Whatever the president's decision is in coming days or weeks, no one can ignore the fact that there may yet be another episode, another stumble like the debate that forces his hand..This party is in crisis mode, with much more than the presidency is at stake. Control of the House and Senate, along with countless other elective offices are riding on the outcome..Harris deserves to be given a much higher profile. Not doing so could prove even costlier than the campaign's decision to seek the debate that landed them in this mess..Read also:.🔒 Biden still intent on running for re-election after NATO summit gaffes🔒 Hollywood giants call for Biden to end re-election campaign🔒 Biden defiant amid calls to step back from 2024 race: Timothy L. O'Brien.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Democrats are undervaluing Kamala Harris as presidential candidate: Patricia Lopez

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