Republicans think Kamala Harris will be easy to beat. They’re wrong
President Joe Biden scrambled up an otherwise ordinary Sunday afternoon with the shock announcement he was ending his reelection campaign. He dropped the announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter, after weeks of turmoil for the Democratic Party over his poor debate performance in June.
He then immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to head the Democratic Party ticket.
More: Pitts: Kamala Harris rallied in Fayetteville. I was there. Days later, the election changed
Her name has been in the mix for weeks as a possible replacement for Biden, but many people still have this question: Can she win?
My answer: Absolutely.
To be clear, there are no easy roads to the White House. Polls show Harris doing slightly worse than Biden on many head-to-head polls against Donald Trump, who secured the Republican Party nomination at its convention last week. Other polls show her doing slightly better.
More: Here’s what North Carolina needs to know ahead of the November election
But Harris brings many advantages to the table, some of which have flown under the radar due in part to the invisibility of the vice president’s job and a too-often incurious political media.
Here are a few.
Harris will boost the Black vote
Harris’ assignment for the Biden-Harris campaign has been to rally Black voters, and she has been effective in doing so. No other Democrat who would replace Biden would be able to deliver the Black votes she can, and it has become political canon that any Democratic presidential candidate needs Black voters to win — not to mention most of the down-ticket candidates, too.
Many people overlook that Harris' deep ties to the Black community are more than skin-deep. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., an influential organization of professional Black women for which organizing and advocating in their local communities is second nature. Harris spoke at the recent AKA convention in Houston, which drew 20,000 people.
Just days prior, the vice president was in New Orleans to speak at the Essence Festival, another massive event that is not known as well by the mainstream, but is super-known in every corner of the Black community.
Harris graduated with a bachelor's degree from Howard University, a historically Black university, and she would be the first graduate of an HBCU to hold the highest office in the land. (She obtained her law degree from UC Law in San Francisco.)
Believe me: The Howard connection will motivate millions of HBCU grads who have for generations relished in proving that their degrees are as good as ones from predominantly white institutions.
Harris is well-suited to leverage abortion rights anger
Fighting for reproductive rights has also been a big part of Harris’ campaign portfolio. Democratic politicians nationwide believe they have the upper hand on the issue after the far-right U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Political analysts believe post-Roe politics have fueled disappointing performances for the Republicans the last three election cycles, and citizen-led referenda protecting those rights have passed in even ruby-red states. Trump himself clearly thinks the issue is a loser, having unceremoniously dropped GOP calls for a federal abortion ban from the party platform, where it had remained for 40 years.
It seems needless to say that having a woman — who could also become the first woman president — press this particular issue forward will be a plus for the Democratic ticket.
Kamala and Gen Z
I think the most underrated aspect of Harris’ appeal is that Gen Z likes her. In fact, indicators suggest she is stronger with Gen Z than Biden.
Gen-Z for Change — formerly TikTok for Biden — was one of the first major political organizations to endorse Harris on Sunday afternoon and said it would be “dedicated to mobilizing young voters" in her support.
Why does this matter? Consider three important things to know about Gen Z when it comes to politics.
First, Gen Z voters cast ballots at a heavier rate than previous generations of young voters who are historically notorious for not turning out; second, they lean toward the progressive side of the aisle, all available data shows; and third, their youngest members are 18, which is to say this is the first election that the entire generation can vote.
Harris is an accomplished former prosecutor. Trump has issues with the law
Harris dropped in for a rally in my city of Fayetteville on Thursday, just days before Biden’s announcement. I covered her speech and, of course, I was looking to see how she might carry herself if she found herself atop the ticket. Buzz was already thick by then that she was going to be the one.
I saw nothing to disabuse myself of the notion she can win. She was sharp, measured and concise and knew how to “move the crowd,” as the rapper Rakim once said. She took shots at J.D. Vance, the GOP vice presidential nominee who had just been introduced the previous night at the Republican National Convention. She said Vance, an Ohio senator, had an inspiring personal story but accused him of concealing Republican plans (schemes) for America, which include Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s far-right vision to reshape the country, cut social programs and further restrict abortion rights.
“We are not buying it,” she told the pumped-up crowd in the gymnasium at Westover High School (which incidentally is my alma mater). “As you know, I am a former prosecutor, so let’s look at the facts, shall we?”
The line drew cheers and likely previews an area of attack Harris will no doubt make against Trump: The prosecutor going after a man convicted of 34 felony counts.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at the Harris rally, and both he and the vice president mentioned that they had known each other for many years, dating back to when both were attorney general of their states (Harris in California). Cooper is on the short-list for vice presidential nominees for Harris, political experts believe — raising the prospect that TWO prosecutors will make the case against Trump.
Republicans seem happy for now
Many Republicans have been ebullient over Harris’ potential to head the ticket, and some have been calling for Biden to resign immediately, which would make her president immediately. They think she will be easy to beat, but they might want to think again.
By 9 p.m. Sunday, Democratic fundraiser ActBlue reported that grassroots supporters had raised $46.7 million, which it called the “biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”
There are no easy roads to the White House.
Opinion Editor Myron B. Pitts can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3559.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Biden dropped out, but Harris can win: How the VP can beat Trump