Chethma De Mel, Jadetimes Staff
C. J. De Mel is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Entertainment News
Kamala Harris appeared on ABC's The View nearly a month ago for an interview intended to outline her platform and give insight into her vision for America. However, it was her response to a question on how she might differ from President Joe Biden that gained the most criticism: "Not a thing comes to mind." This phrase became almost immediately a point of Republican attack ads, underlining some of the difficulties her campaign had to contend with as she indeed lost to Donald Trump.
Harris conceded the race on Wednesday afternoon, asking her supporters to "not despair," but it's expected that the campaign will settle into a period of soul-searching as Democrats ponder what went wrong and how it could affect the party's future. The Harris campaign team was silent in the early Wednesday morning hours, with several of her aides in a state of shock and sadness over a loss they had been hoping would at least be closer. Campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon in an email to staff acknowledged the pain - "this will take a long time to process."
As Biden's sitting vice president, Harris struggled to distance herself from the administration's record. The economy was a concern for many voters, and Biden's approval ratings were abysmally low, which made it hard for Harris to convey any inspiring message of change. When Biden finally withdrew from the race because of his debates' poor showing, Harris jumped to the top of the ticket, skipping the primaries altogether. On economic issues, she ran on housing and affordability and increased costs, but she also mobilized women in the name of abortion rights. But despite an early head of steam, Harris was ultimately unable to break free from the drag caused by Biden's unpopularity and connect with a electorate anxious about the economy and deeply divided over immigration.
Privately, some campaign insiders lamented whether Harris's loyalty to Biden made her reluctant to carve out a distinct message. Former communications director Jamal Simmons pushed back on the notion, saying any attempts at making a separation from Biden would have fueled more substance for Republicans to malign her as unfaithful. In reality, though, the Harris campaign avoided seriously honing a message on that count, rarely pushing back, if ever, at supposed shortcomings of the administration.
The campaign's efforts to turn out Mr Biden's 2020 coalition of Black, Latino and young voters were not successful. Ms Harris underperformed with Latinos and young voters-she ran behind Mr Biden's margins in each group four years ago. Among those who did vote, Senator Bernie Sanders said the decline reflected how the Democratic Party was seen as 'defending the status quo' and could not reach working-class people. While Harris improved her standing among women voters, her margin was smaller than Biden's in 2020-a disappointment to many who hoped her historic candidacy would improve her standing with suburban women.
Harris's campaign also attempted to frame the election as a referendum on Trump, emphasizing issues related to personal freedoms and middle-class stability. But her late-campaign pivot to heavy criticism of Trump may have been counterproductive. The public wanted more information about Harris' goals and her governing philosophy," said Republican pollster Frank Luntz. "Every new diatribe against Trump drew her away from the message on what she would accomplish, which was where she needed to be.".
In the end, Harris's coalition never materialized, as voters proved unwilling to coalesce behind her candidacy. The election result suggests a more far-reaching problem than any one candidate or any one administration; rather, it reflects more fundamental questions about the future of the party, with voter dissatisfaction still there.
