‘I think particularly since the Dobbs decision, Kamala’s profile has really gone up,’ Senator Tim Kaine told NR.
Washington, D.C. – As party insiders debate Joe Biden’s 2024 viability behind closed doors, and a small number begin to break with the president publicly, Democratic lawmakers are proving eager to prop up the presumed frontrunner in a rushed, post-Biden Democratic primary: Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite her consistently poor polling numbers, Harris would instantly become the odds-on favorite to seal up the nomination were Biden to step aside, given that she would likely inherit Biden’s substantial campaign war chest and the ability to run on the Biden administration’s record.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre touted Harris as “the future of the party” in a press briefing last week. And while she’s proven historically unpopular as a vice president, Harris did outperform Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump in one post-debate poll.
Senator Tim Kaine (D., Va.) — a man not unfamiliar with the political dynamics surrounding the vice presidency, having joined Hillary Clinton’s ticket in 2016 — believes Harris has distinguished herself as the face of the party’s pro-choice messaging.
“I have great confidence in the president and vice president,” Kaine told National Review inside the Capitol. “I think particularly since the Dobbs decision, Kamala’s profile has really gone up and she’s been much more visible in Virginia and elsewhere, and done very well.”
Saddled with immigration policy as her primary responsibility, Harris struggled to garner good press as the border spiraled out of control over Biden’s first two years in office. Rather than engaging with enforcement issues that could only alienate her progressive allies, Harris made numerous trips to Central and South America to address the “root causes” of immigration, while record numbers of illegal immigrants continued pouring into the country.
But the vice president seems to have found her footing, at least among left-wing media figures and progressive activists, by barnstorming the country talking about the threat that a second Trump term poses to abortion rights.
Although Biden continues to insist he’s not going anywhere, a widely circulated memo from Democratic operatives making the case for Harris’s candidacy circulated this past weekend. The memo is based on what they believe to be Harris’s case for democratic legitimacy and electoral strengths compared to Biden’s, especially given the timing of Biden’s crisis of confidence.
“Kamala Harris has the strongest claim to Democratic legitimacy,” the document reads.
“She is the only candidate who can take the reins right now, instead of in late August with less than three months left to go. She has significant and widely underplayed electoral advantages. She can win.”
Asked Monday about Harris, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D., N.J.) projected confidence in the vice president’s ability to pick up the baton should anything happen to Biden.
“God willing, we don’t know what ‘s gonna happen to any of us and I think that he has as good a chance as any to serve those four years,” Coleman told reporters Monday evening. “But God forbid, should something happen, he has a very able vice president who can take over,” she told reporters before trashing Donald Trump’s character.
While only six House Democrats have called for the president to step aside, the number is growing. The most recent was Representative Adam Smith (D., Wash.), who said in a statement on Monday the president should end his candidacy “as soon as possible.” Smith did not specify who should replace him.
But, Biden received much-needed support from Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford (D., Nev.), who issued a statement on Monday supporting his candidacy. Monday evening, Biden called the CBC and members reportedly doubled down on supporting Biden. On CNN after the call, Horsford claimed that opposition to Biden amounted to “ageism and ableism” rather than policy disagreements.
“I have confidence in both the president and vice president,” CBC member Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.), told reporters on Monday as he entered the House floor.
Before the call, Representative Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.), a close Biden ally, declined to comment when National Review asked about Harris and her role on the campaign trail. Clyburn said that he would only discuss Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for a second Trump term that the former president denounced on Saturday.
“I will support [Harris] if [Biden] were to step aside,” Clyburn said on MSNBC last week.
“This party should not, in any way, do anything to work around Ms. Harris. We should do everything we can to bolster her whether she’s in second place or at the top of the ticket.”
A slew of other Democratic lawmakers — from Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) — have also voiced support for the president. The post-break response has slowed but not stalled momentum for those opposed to the president’s plans to remain the Democratic standard bearer.
For most of Biden’s presidency, Harris’s approval rating has been a couple percentage points lower than Biden’s, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages. However, a recent Wall Street Journal poll found Harris’s approval rating to be 35 percent, a point higher than Biden’s, and a CNN poll released last week showed Harris performing better than Biden in a head-to-head matchup against Trump.
Publicly, Harris is strongly defending Biden and throwing her support behind his reelection campaign. In the months to come, she will likely play a central role in Democratic efforts to turn out the black voters they are counting on whether or not Biden remains the party’s choice.