On Sunday, July 21st, political shockwaves were sent in the figurative sense across the United States when the sitting president Joe Biden announced he would be suspending his re-election campaign less than four months before the upcoming presidential election in November. Biden has been under intense political pressure following a poor debate performance against the former 45th president and Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27th. Many Democrats called on the president to step aside following the debate, and while Biden was initially adamant about staying in the race, he finally succumbed to the pressure in late July. He quickly pivoted to endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris as his successor. Harris has claimed she seems to “earn” the Democratic nomination and in the days that have passed since the announcement she has raised tens of millions of dollars for her campaign.
Harris recently announced that Julie Chavez-Rodriguez and Jen O’Malley Dillion would remain in their roles as campaign chair and manager. Harris seeks to quickly retool the Biden campaign into her own entity and is now forced to make critical decisions in a very short matter of time. It is estimated that Harris may be confirmed as the Democratic nominee by the end of the week. Harris has allegedly already secured the support of over half the delegates required to become the party nominee. The Democratic national convention is set to occur in late August.
Harris, a former prosecutor, may seek to use this prior role as a method to contrast herself from Donald Trump. Harris has claimed that she “knows” people like Donald Trump, and noted he is a convicted felon, claiming she spent a career prosecuting people like him. Harris will soon need to pick a Vice President. Sources close to Harris have claimed the decision will be totally hers. Many recent national polls show Harris faring better against Donald J. Trump in comparison to Joe Biden.
