In a dramatic twist to the political saga, former President Joe Biden recently stepped down from the electoral battleground, passing his support to Vice President Kamala Harris as the choice for Democrats. During the last election cycle, she had also sought the Democratic nomination. However, drawing parallels with her campaign in 2020, there’s a prediction that her 2024 run might encounter major difficulties.
Harris made her presidential intentions known in January 2019, soon matching Senator Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) fundraising record within the first 24 hours. It was a promising start. She then orchestrated a kick-off event for her campaign, drawing a crowd of 20,000 enthusiastic supporters, surpassing even former President Barack Obama’s initial 2007 campaign gathering.
The initial phase of her campaign painted a promising picture. Several heavyweight names in politics, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) among them, pledged their support, implying a strong momentum. However, turbulence began when Harris hastily offered her support for the Jussie Smollett hate crime claim, labelling it an ‘attempted modern-day lynching’ without verifying the facts.
As the campaign advanced, Harris’s successful outing at the preliminary Democratic Party candidate debate remarkably boosted her support among primary voters. This success, noted in increased donations and wider endorsements, however, encountered a stumbling block at the second debate.
Harris found herself in the crosshairs of then-Representative Tulsi Gabbard during the second debate. Gabbard criticized Harris for incarcerating thousands for marijuana-related offenses, even as she admitted to partaking in the past. This unsavory episode marked the beginning of a downward spiral for Harris’s campaign.
Post the controversy, her campaign struggled. The subsequent debate saw a disappointing performance from Harris. As her popularity ratings began to dwindle, the focus of her campaign had to be rapidly shifted towards the early primary states in September.
The ensuing debate was hardly remarkable for Harris. By the fall of October, the struggles of her campaign were further highlighted. Insufficient funding led to downsizing the campaign staff and reducing the pay of remaining members. Her campaign’s crumbling structure reflected poorly on the poll numbers.
Harris had a brief ray of hope after a commendable performance at the fifth debate, but not much material change followed. With still no primary held, she was compelled to put a halt to her campaign operations a little over a month later.
Despite being the anticipated choice this time, Harris hasn’t tasted victory in any presidential primary. The New York Times reported an exposé detailing the unravelling of her campaign, hinting that the campaign had been floundering for quite some time.
One of the campaign staff members reportedly claimed, ‘This is my third presidential campaign and I have never seen an organization treat its staff so poorly.’ Other insiders pointed fingers towards Harris and her close confidants for making poor strategic decisions regarding the choice of focus states, issue emphasis, and competitor target selection. The campaign suffered from indecisive personnel choices and lacked structural solidity.
Peculiarly enough, Harris seems to have a knack for advancing in her career despite her failures. Her political journey from the District Attorney of San Francisco to the presumptive presidential nominee is marked with a lack of distinctly impactful victories, inevitably raising concerns among voters across the country.
How voters will respond to Harris as the Democratic candidate, as compared to Biden, remains a question yet unanswered. Regardless, the political dynamics have certainly shifted from a week ago, adding new dimensions to the upcoming elections.
In summary, Harris’s 2024 campaign, backed by endorsement from former President Biden, resonates with the challenges and the political drama of her 2020 run. The journey from being a district attorney to a presumptive presidential nominee contains lessons on political resilience and strategic failures. The question remains – can she turn around the narrative this time?