At 1.46 pm on July 21, President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race in the US. A minute later, Kamala Harris was ready to call the most influential Democrats. Hundred calls in 10 hours. She also mobilised delegates who would ensure her nomination when the day comes. That day has come. Harris Democratic presidential nominees Now.
Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, is set to face Donald Trump in the November 2024 elections. She will be the first woman of color to lead a majority party ticket. She won 99% of the votes of the 4,567 delegates who participated in the virtual roll call vote, the Associated Press reports.
Democrats are unanimously behind Harris because she can deliver victory. She is their ‘choice’.
Nominations typically take place in person at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). But this time, it was done online so it could be completed in time for state deadlines for printing ballots, The New York Times reported. The roll call began on August 1. By the next day, the only candidate on the ballot who had won the support of a majority of candidates was Kamala Harris.
“Vice President Harris has historic momentum as we take the final steps to officially certify her as our party’s nominee,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and convention Chair Minyon Moore said in a statement.
Kamala Harris is the only candidate for Democrats
The Democrats’ campaign was sluggish due to President Joe Biden’s deteriorating health. They desperately needed a win and they might have gotten one in the form of Harris.
Many Democrats feel more excited about putting Harris up against former President Donald Trump than an 81-year-old president with poor health.
Choosing someone else would have been difficult and time-consuming since Biden withdrew from the race just three months before the November election. Harris is the vice president and was Biden’s running mate, and she has a track record that could help Democrats secure the necessary wins.
She brings up Biden’s gun violence prevention, abortion rights and democracy, and adds in his prosecutor’s background. She talks about his felony convictions and says she “knows his type.”
Democrats needed this powerful delivery. At this point, only Harris could bring it.
“To have that unique voice of a new generation, of a prosecutor and of a woman, when fundamental rights, particularly reproductive rights, are at stake, it feels like the stars are aligned with her at this moment in history,” California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla told The Associated Press.
Harris brings the strong delivery Democrats need
Kamala Harris arrived in Washington as a senator during Trump’s presidency. She soon became an opponent of his policies. Many speculated about her own aspirations.
Harris was also part of the Judiciary Committee, and questioned people like Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “I can’t come fast enough,” when Harris asked him about his conversations with Russian nationals. “That makes me nervous,” he added, according to the AP report.
Harris would also be helpful in bringing swing voters to the Democrats’ side. Young black voters. According to ABC, they were less inclined to vote for Biden than for Harris.
Harris’s bi-racial identity will help her connect with South Asians, Blacks and other immigrants in the US. This will help Democrats get more votes.
Harris can also do another thing. She can unite the Democrats under her leadership and give a tough fight to Trump.
Kamala Harris and the criticism against her
But many of Harris’ critics doubt this. They talk about her poor electoral performance.
An article in the NY Post even stated that Harris’ rise was a surprise to many, including Harris herself. It stated that Harris’ ideology resembles the California Ideology, which is “extreme pre-emptive endorsement of the latest thing”. It also called her a “historic accident” and a sign of the “unimaginable perversity of our era”.
Questions are also being raised about Harris’ stance on the Israel-Gaza war after she did not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
Harris’ critics are concerned about her racial identity and its use in the campaign. They feel that identity groups such as ‘Black Women for Harris’ or ‘White People for Harris’ are a sign of segregation and fear that this will become the future of America.
As the daughter of an immigrant, there are also concerns about her stance on immigration.
Now, Harris is set to take on Trump in the November elections. There are many reasons why the Democrats chose Harris, but only time will tell if Harris can address her critics and reach out to more people in the US electorate. This will be a deciding factor in the elections. For now, the Democrats have no better option than her, and she is their unanimous ‘choice’.
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