Democrat Leaders Push Kamala Harris Despite Unpopularity – Vice President Kamala Harris has been widely expected to have been on the campaign trail pounding away as to why she and President Joe Biden deserve a second term following the 2024 election.
However, in the two months since Biden declared his intent to seek a second term and let it be known that Kamala Harris would be staying on as his running mate, she has visited nine states, including three 2024 battleground states, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Biden campaign argues that the campaign is still young and Vice President Joe Biden had not visited many states in 2011 at a similar point in the 2012 campaign.
FiveThirtyEight notes that Kamala Harris has a 51.4% disapproval rating and a 39.6% approval rating.
Some Democratic Party donors want to reshape Harris’s image.
“They need to raise her favorability ratings so she’s more effective as this goes on,” Mary Anne Marsh told The Wall Street Journal.
She’s among the most unpopular vice presidents in American history. Her desire to sound intelligent about things she doesn’t understand often leads to ridiculous comments that make even some Democrats cringe.
Not All Democrats Sold On Kamala Harris
One Democratic donor told The Wall Street Journal that Harris is a “tough sell.”
“Speaking solely for myself, I don’t think I would ever be able to have a very successful fundraiser with her as the headliner,” said Democratic donor and trial lawyer John Morgan. “First of all, for many people, Democrats included, she’s polarizing.”
Her recent comments about culture and artificial intelligence stand out as examples.
“Right now, 17 percent of Democrats have an unfavorable opinion of Harris. I doubt that is driven by right-wing criticism or “gendered disinformation.” Right now, 59 percent of independents feel unfavorably about her, and only 30 percent of independents feel favorable,” National Review Online columnist Jim Geraghty wrote. “We are getting some “Kamala Harris has turned a corner” pieces again, a political tradition as predictable as the biannual “this is the year Texas Democrats win some key statewide races” pieces.
Geraghty continued: “Democrats convinced themselves that Harris was a political superstar, just waiting to burst onto the stage.”
Democrats Look to Harris as Voice on Abortion
Democrats see abortion as Harris’s ace card.
The Democratic Party abortion-rights groups Emily’s List has begun running a TV ad supporting Harris. It is also supported by the pro-Biden super PAC Futures Forward. The ad features Harris speaking against Republican efforts to criminalize abortion and restrict abortion access.
“There’s nobody in this administration who’s more compelling and authentic but also persuasive on abortion than the vice president,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Naral Pro-Choice America. “We’re pleased with her presence. I fully expect to see a lot more.”
North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper expressed his support for Harris, noting that she has visited his state seven times since Biden’s election, including a speech in Charlotte last month on abortion.
“We’re glad for every visit. And I think she’s helping to make a real difference showing North Carolinians how the Biden-Harris administration is working for them,” Cooper said.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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