Harris secures enough delegates for nomination, breaks one-day fundraising record – National & International News – TUE 23Jul2024

VP Kamala Harris has secured enough support to replace Biden. Speculation now turns to VP pick. Trump, GOP struggle to find line of attack.

Harris secures enough delegates for nomination, breaks one-day fundraising record

Since President Biden announced on Sunday he was stepping back from the 2024 Presidential race and endorsed his VP Kamala Harris, party leaders, organizers, donors and delegates have quickly coalesced behind her. Democratic members of Congress who had publicly expressed misgivings about Biden were the first to line up behind her with endorsements. Party leaders who at first were hoping for an open contest have also since endorsed her.

Harris’ campaign raised $81 million on its first day, an all-time single-day record. By way of comparison, Trump’s single largest fundraising day followed his conviction for fraud in New York, when he raised $53 million. The make-up of Harris’ donors also signals renewed enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket. On the first day, the campaign received over over 888,ooo “grassroots” donations, 60% of which were from individuals donating for the first time in this cycle. Big money donors who had been holding off in hopes that Biden would step down have also opened their checkbooks. As of now, Harris’ campaign has raised over $100 million, $80 million of which came from small-dollar donors.

Biden’s campaign workers will be staying on for Harris’ campaign, with Harris also bringing some of her own people in. On Monday, Harris’ campaign also signed up 30,000 new volunteers across the country. 

Today, an Associated Press survey found that Harris already had the backing of enough state delegates to officially secure the nomination. 

Attacks from Republicans

Despite many having seen these developments coming for weeks, former President Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party in general seems to have had trouble re-orienting itself against their new opponent. Soon after Biden endorsed her, Trump publicly declared that he would no longer debate her in September on ABC, instead insisting on a debate on friendlier turf at Fox News. However, he has now walked that back somewhat.

They’ve also struggled to find a line of attack on Harris that will land convincingly with voters. This is partly because over her career as California Attorney General, California Senator, 2020 election candidate and as VP, Harris has embraced positions and taken actions that are all over the map politically. Some of her biggest liabilities stem from her time as San Francisco DA and California AG when she sought to prosecute the parents of truants, blocked the release of inmates so they could work as firefighters, and in at least one case withheld exculpatory evidence against a defendant. However, most of these actions are more likely to turn off the Democratic base than independents and moderates.

Instead, Republican attacks following Harris’ rapid ascent have focused on her personality quirks, such as her sometimes rambling and unfocused speeches and her habit of laughing at inappropriate times. Some have focused on invalidating her candidacy, characterizing it as “a coup” against Joe Biden. Others have been downright distasteful, making derogatory remarks about her race, her sex, and even gross speculations about her sexual history and fertility.

VP race

With Harris having all but clinched the top spot on the ticket, speculation has turned to who her running mate will be. Contenders who have been floated include Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Bashear.

So far, Govs. Shapiro and Cooper as well as Sen. Kelly are considered to be the strongest contenders. However, they are also more conservative Democrats while the more progressive candidates Pritzker and Walsh are less favored in the current speculation.

Choosing a more conservative candidate could dampen the enthusiasm of a momentarily re-energized base that has rapidly organized behind Harris. Kelly’s record of voting against the interests of organized labor is a serious liability since union support has been crucial to the Biden-Harris coalition. Shapiro’s comparison of Gaza ceasefire protesters with the KKK could further alienate Muslims and Arab-Americans, who are heavily concentrated in the must-win state of Michigan. These voters have largely turned their backs on Biden due to his unfettered military support for Israel’s 10-month assault on Gaza. Since Biden stepped down, Michigan’s Muslim and Arab groups have held open the door to a rapprochement with Harris. Choosing Shapiro could slam that door again.

Whitmer is very popular in her home state and could help win Michigan for the Democrats, but most analysts believe it’s unlikely the Dems will go with a two-woman ticket. It’s also not clear whether Whitmer even wants to be on the ticket.

Gov. Bashear is currently the most popular Democratic governor in the US, even at the helm of his deep-red state.  Unlike many red-state Democrats, he has also been outspoken in his support of abortion rights, LGBT rights and especially organized labor. He would also be an effective counter to Trump’s VP pick J.D. Vance, who has made much of his background growing up partially in Appalachia. Bashear has already gone on the attack against Vance, painting him as an elitist tech bro who “ain’t one of us”.