Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Harris Looks to Maintain Momentum as ‘Honeymoon Phase’ Winds Down
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 8 months ago on
July 29, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, disembarks Air Force Two in Indianapolis on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Democratic delegates could begin voting to virtually nominate Harris as early as August 1. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

When President Joe Biden said he would drop out of the presidential race just over a week ago, throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, a jolt of energy instantly excited a beleaguered Democratic base.

Democrats Rallied Behind Harris

The party rallied around Harris, as upbeat memes and positive statistics for Democrats over the past week abounded: $200 million in contributions, a litany of tantalizing vice-presidential options and a rash of improved polling.

Harris now faces harder tasks in the coming weeks: maintaining that enthusiasm as the initial excitement fades, as former President Donald Trump and his campaign sharpen their attacks against her.

This week alone has important mile markers. Democratic delegates could begin voting to virtually nominate Harris as early as Thursday, the date the Democratic National Committee said they were expected to do so if only one candidate emerged.

And the running mate speculation will be rampant this week, as Harris narrows her choice, with Aug. 7 as a deadline she has set. She has empowered Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, and his law firm, Covington & Burling, to vet the prospective candidates.

“I would call it a honeymoon phase,” said Steve Sisolak, the former Democratic governor of Nevada, a key swing state. “We’ve got to keep the energy going. You got it started — now you’ve got to keep it going. It’s going to be a challenge for everybody.”

Harris and her high-profile surrogates are expected to keep up their brisk pace early in the week, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — the latter viewed as a serious vice-presidential contender — campaigning for Harris on Monday in Pennsylvania.

Harris Will Make First Appearance as Candidate in Georgia

On Tuesday, Harris will make her first appearance as a presidential candidate this cycle in Georgia, campaigning in Atlanta as she works to keep the state in play for November. Biden turned Georgia blue in 2020, but the president’s lagging poll numbers had prompted many Democrats to all but write it off this year. Harris, as she works to regain the support of key blocs of the Democratic coalition — including Black people, women, younger voters and college-educated suburban residents — could make a renewed push there.

Trump and his allies will be active, too. The former president is rallying in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania., on Wednesday, and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, will appear at a series of events in the western battleground states of Nevada and Arizona. In two states with large Latino populations, Vance is likely to continue to hammer Harris on immigration and call her the “border czar,” an attack Republicans see as effective after Biden appointed her to address the “root causes” of migration from Central American countries.

Vance faces his own controversies. He has been pummeled over his past comments that have resurfaced over the past week and a half, including his mockery of “childless cat ladies,” his assertion that childless Americans should pay higher taxes and his correspondence with a former law school classmate, in which he expressed political views that differ sharply from his positions today and said, “I hate the police.” Both Vance’s allies and opponents will be watching his appearances this week closely to see how well he recovers.

Republicans Begin to Attack Harris

Republicans are also beginning to attack Harris for her old policy positions and statements, resurfacing clips from her time running for president as they make the argument that she is a far-left radical from California, too progressive for the rest of the country.

“They’re going to come at her, sure. Of course they’ll come at her,” said Claire McCaskill, the former Democratic senator from Missouri. “But so far the only thing they’ve really tried is that she’s somehow not supportive of law enforcement, and that rings kind of hollow from a vice-presidential candidate that we now know said in writing, ‘I hate the police.’ ”

Harris has acknowledged the long road ahead. At a fundraiser over the weekend, she sought to temper expectations and guard against complacency.

“We got a fight ahead of us, and we are the underdogs in this race, OK?” Harris said.

The next morning, an array of Democratic surrogates fanned out across the Sunday news shows to defend her against Republican attacks.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who ran to Harris’ left in the 2020 Democratic primaries, went on CNN to promote her moderate bona fides. She praised Harris for supporting bipartisan legislation this year that would have enacted stringent border policies more commonly backed by Republicans. It was, Warren noted, Trump who torpedoed that deal.

Another set of surrogates were auditioning to be Harris’ running mate while engaging in the time-honored political tradition of insisting they weren’t thinking about it. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gave a forceful defense when asked on CNN whether some of his policies — such as free meals for schoolchildren and tuition-free college for low-income residents — might be considered too liberal for a general election audience.

“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies so they can go learn and women are making their own health care decisions, and we’re a top-five business state and we also rank in the top three of happiness,” Walz said with a laugh.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Kellen Browning and Maggie Astor/Erin Schaff
c.2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

After Briefly Disappearing, TikTok Went Back to Normal. Or Did It?

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Head-On Crash Sends Two to the Hospital

DON'T MISS

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Overnight Leaves More Than 50 Palestinians Dead

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Three Suspects in Credit Card Fraud Case

DON'T MISS

Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win

DON'T MISS

Colorado Man Charged with Pointing Laser at Fresno Sheriff Helicopter

DON'T MISS

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

DON'T MISS

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

DON'T MISS

Dow Drops 1,200 as US Stock Market Leads a Worldwide Sell-off Following Trump’s Tariff Shock

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

UP NEXT

Fresno County Head-On Crash Sends Two to the Hospital

UP NEXT

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Overnight Leaves More Than 50 Palestinians Dead

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Seek Three Suspects in Credit Card Fraud Case

UP NEXT

Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win

UP NEXT

Colorado Man Charged with Pointing Laser at Fresno Sheriff Helicopter

UP NEXT

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

UP NEXT

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

UP NEXT

Dow Drops 1,200 as US Stock Market Leads a Worldwide Sell-off Following Trump’s Tariff Shock

UP NEXT

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

Clovis Police Seek Three Suspects in Credit Card Fraud Case

32 minutes ago

Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win

37 minutes ago

Colorado Man Charged with Pointing Laser at Fresno Sheriff Helicopter

43 minutes ago

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

54 minutes ago

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

59 minutes ago

Dow Drops 1,200 as US Stock Market Leads a Worldwide Sell-off Following Trump’s Tariff Shock

1 hour ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

14 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

18 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

18 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

19 hours ago

After Briefly Disappearing, TikTok Went Back to Normal. Or Did It?

There were jokes. There was despair. There were eulogies and fake funerals. For about half a day in January, as a Supreme Court ruling banni...

46 seconds ago

46 seconds ago

After Briefly Disappearing, TikTok Went Back to Normal. Or Did It?

14 minutes ago

Fresno County Head-On Crash Sends Two to the Hospital

Yamama Jundia, 13, injured in an Israeli airstrike, grieves alongside others over the bodies of their relatives, who were killed in the same strike, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
24 minutes ago

Israeli Strikes on Gaza Overnight Leaves More Than 50 Palestinians Dead

Clovis police are seeking public help in identifying three suspects involved in a credit card fraud case after a stolen card was used at Best Buy and Target. (Clovis PD)
32 minutes ago

Clovis Police Seek Three Suspects in Credit Card Fraud Case

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hits a walk-off solo home run against as Atlanta Braves catcher Atlanta Braves' Chadwick Tromp looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP/Kevork Djansezian)
37 minutes ago

Ohtani’s Walk-off Homer Boosts Dodgers to 8-0 With Another Comeback Win

43 minutes ago

Colorado Man Charged with Pointing Laser at Fresno Sheriff Helicopter

Hungary’s ICC withdrawal aligns with Netanyahu’s defiance of his arrest warrant, straining EU relations and raising global concerns.
54 minutes ago

Hungary to Exit ICC as Netanyahu Visits Amid Arrest Warrant Dispute

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during the International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony at the Department of State in Washington on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Rubio traveled to Brussels on Thursday for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers amid high anxiety over the Trump administration’s approach to Europe, including the war in Ukraine, relations with Russia and President Trump’s growing trade war with the continent. (Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times)
59 minutes ago

Rubio Visits NATO Amid European Alarm Over Trump’s Agenda

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend