Joe Biden insists that only “God Almighty” can convince him to drop out of the presidential race. But if he changes his mind, Vice President Kamala Harris is by far the best candidate to replace him.
According to the Associated Press, Kamala Harris would have a lead over several of the most discussed Democratic candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She has previously won the presidential election with Biden, has maintained good relations with caucus voters over the years, and could control the huge campaign coffers Biden has amassed for his reelection.
According to the Associated Press, here are some potential and prospective analyses of her replacing Biden.
- She would be the most natural person for Biden to support
The president easily locked up the Democratic nomination, and Democratic rules don’t allow him to simply transfer the number of delegates he’s amassed at next month’s Democratic National Convention. But some delegates have already said they will be loyal to Kamala Harris.
Biden’s choice of Kamala Harris could limit potential chaos and avoid infighting that could cause lasting damage in order to challenge Republican Donald Trump.
“Kamala Harris is best suited to succeed Biden,” said Andrew Feldman, a Democratic strategist. Feldman, who has worked closely with political parties in several states, emphasized that the question is purely hypothetical, as Biden has insisted he will not drop out.
- Challenging Kamala Harris to be Biden’s successor is risky
Kamala Harris was the first woman to serve as Vice President and the first African-American woman and of South Asian descent. African Americans are the largest and most loyal group of supporters of the Democratic Party.
Kamala Harris broke gender and racial barriers, and anyone who leads the charge against her could be criticized in future Democratic primaries.
- Ambitious Democrats may not want a rushed campaign
Since Biden’s disastrous debate, Democrats have mentioned a range of top alternatives who could take over the presidency. In addition to Whitmer and Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro and Illinois Governor Pritzker are on the list. All of them have said they will continue to support Biden.
But in dozens of interviews, Democratic staffers, pollsters, and elected officials reported that there was none of the kind of intense political jockeying that would have been necessary to support someone other than Kamala Harris at the Democratic convention if Biden had pushed for it.
- Kamala Harris will have the startup money
As Biden’s official running mate, the vice president has access to $91 million in cash raised by the president’s campaign, a figure that rises to $240 million when the Democratic Coalition organization is included, something other Democratic candidates may not be able to do.
- Kamala Harris’s legal background could be a powerful weapon
Kamala Harris, 59, is 22 years younger than Biden. As a former prosecutor, she can deliver intimidating attacks in debates – as Biden faced during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, when Kamala Harris slammed Biden for having opposed school busing policies as a means of desegregation.
Vice President Kamala Harris leads new campaign aimed at pulling in the Asian vote
The pro-Biden Kamala Harris AANHPIs (AANHPI stands for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders) will kick off this campaign with an event in Las Vegas on Tuesday (July 9) with former Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, the Associated Press reports.
Kamala Harris, the first South Asian American to serve as vice president, has been in the spotlight since Biden’s debate performance last month sparked questions about whether he would drop out of the race and be replaced by Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris will also deliver the keynote address on Saturday (July 13) at a town hall meeting in Philadelphia hosted by APIAVote, an advocacy group dedicated to mobilizing Asian American voters.
Asian-American political experts have long said that language is a barrier to effectively reaching voters. The Biden campaign’s effort plans to provide resources in multiple languages, including Chinese, Tagalog, Hindi, Hmong, Vietnamese, Urdu and Korean.
