Democratic lawmakers are worried about Vice President Kamala Harris’s chances of defeating former President Donald Trump with the election just 99 days away.
As the initial “honeymoon” period of the Harris campaign fades, discomfort is growing within the Democratic Party over Harris’s progressive record, her limited influence in key blue states, and the difficulties of running on the Biden-Harris administration’s economic record.
“I would call it a honeymoon phase,” former Democrat governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak told the New York Times on Monday. “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.”
Democrats are privately voicing concerns about Harris’s candidacy. According to a source familiar with the internal discussions, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was “lukewarm” about Harris becoming the nominee, a sentiment that seems to be common among party elites.
“She wasn’t a great candidate,” a Democrat senator told the Hill about Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign. Harris ended her campaign before the Iowa caucuses. “And she may not be as a political campaigner as good as Biden was in his prime,” the senator said.
“We need to be very clear-eyed, and it’s going to be brutally tough,” the lawmaker added.
A second Democratic senator contended that Harris is a better choice than President Joe Biden but acknowledged her weaknesses in the Midwest. One of the biggest hurdles for the progressive California Democrat will be gaining support in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—blue wall states where Trump has a strong chance of winning.
“It’s not as if there was a perfect vision of, ‘Oh we have the best candidate in the world [in reserve]’” , the senator told the Hill of Harris replacing Biden.
A Democratic strategist from Pennsylvania echoed the senator’s concerns about Harris’s ability to connect with voters in Blue Wall states. “I’m surprised by how few connections she has here,” the strategist told the Hill. “California feels very distant and culturally foreign.”
“Everything I’ve always heard is she doesn’t have that many relationships in Pennsylvania, and she hasn’t established any kind of identity here,” the source acknowledged. “Obviously, it’s a very big difference with Joe Biden.”
A third senator highlighted the challenge Harris will encounter: campaigning on the unpopular Biden-Harris record while having to praise Biden and the administration, even as attacks reveal her Senate record.
“She’s got to define herself,” the senator warned. “She doesn’t have the brand on the economy but she’s got the chops and Biden has the record.”
Just a week after gaining Biden’s endorsement, Harris is already facing negative polling and headlines.
An Economist/YouGov poll from last week shows that only 39 percent of registered independents consider Harris “qualified” to be president. Additionally, among the 54 percent of registered voters who believe there was a “cover-up of Biden’s health,” 92 percent think Harris was at least somewhat involved in the cover-up.
