It’s logical, maybe even inevitable. But is it a good idea?
As Steven Taylor has already noted, Democrats are coalescing around Kamala Harris as the nominee in the wake of President Biden’s dropping his re-election bid. Whether the Democrats are thereby solving their dilemma remains to be seen.
For reasons discussed on both the front page and the comments section, rallying behind Harris makes a lot of sense. She is, after all, the sitting Vice President and, as such, is the only plausible contender not named “Joe Biden” for whom Democrats have at least nominally voted in both the last general election and in the 2024 primaries. And failing to nominate a Black-Indian woman under those circumstances would be highly problematic for obvious reasons.
While Steven—an expert on comparative political institutions—has repeatedly explained why U.S. parties are extremely weak, the Democratic Party is at the apex of its power in this situation. With a convention commencing in less than a month, it is too late for a primary do-over. The sitting Democratic President has endorsed Harris, both implicitly by choosing her as his running mate for 2020 and the 2024 primaries and explicitly by endorsing her as his replacement. So have Bill and Hillary Clinton, the 1992, 1996, and 2016 nominees. Crucially, Governors Gavin Newsom (CA), Josh Shapiro (PA), and Roy Cooper (NC)—all of whom are high on lists of ideal Biden replacements—have already endorsed her. So have all 50 state party chairs.
Thus, as Steven noted, “any would-be challenger would have to decide how much of the party it wants to fight with to get a job which would require uniting the party.” Aside from Joe Manchin, nobody who would be a plausible candidate* has given even the slightest indication they’re prepared to do so.
So, the cake is likely already baked.
Still, I have pretty strong misgivings about simply handing the baton to Harris without party brokers at least considering alternatives.
First, while she has certainly gained considerable experience over the last four years, it’s not at all clear that she’s an effective campaigner on a broad scale.
