Kamala HARRIS - U.S. Vice President
➡️ Kamala Harris - Presidential Campaign and Defeat to Trump
Kamala Harris launched her 2024 presidential campaign on July 21st, when Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race after Democratic party officials questioned his ability to campaign and govern.
In a disastrous performance in a debate with Trump, Biden appeared to stumble his way through arguments, was unable to keep his train of thought, and struggled with memory recall. Biden gave his full backing for the nomination of Harris as the new leader of the Democratic party.
If Kamala had won, she would have been the first woman in American history to lead the country. A woman of African-American and South Asian descent no less. Her nomination spared the U.S. of yet another duel of old white men.
Jump straight to our extensive guide on ➡️ Kamala Harris - a critical look at the career and political stand points of the prosecutor-turned-politician who sat on the cusp of history.
Checkout ➡️ must-read articles, important videos, a guide to her running mate Tim Waltz, Harris as Biden’s successor, her time as Vice-President and an extensive guide to Biden’s presidency.
Who is Kamala Harris?
Born in California in 1964, Harris became the first woman of mixed-descent to hold the position of Vice President of the United States. Her family hails from India and Jamaica, and Harris grew up with a strong social and political consciousness.
After studying political science and economics at Howard, a historically African-American university, she received her law degree from the University of California. Harris began her career as an assistant district attorney in California, where she specialized in sex offense and child abuse cases.
In 2003, Harris was elected district attorney of San Francisco. Here she distinguished herself as a strict and sometimes radical prosecutor. In this position, she initiated a rehabilitation program for first-time offenders and was open to criminal law reforms that promoted reintegration into society.
In 2010, Kamala Harris was elected attorney general of California, becoming the first woman and first person of African-American and South Asian descent to hold this office. In this position she campaigned for consumer protection, criminal justice reform, and environmental issues. A notable success was her role in the nationwide lawsuit against large banks after the mortgage crisis, securing a $20 billion settlement for California to provide financial relief to homeowners.
She actively campaigned against human trafficking and for the rights of victims of domestic violence, as well as developing programmes aimed at crime prevention and community empowerment.
Harris launched her political career in 2016. She was elected to the U.S. Senate as a senator for California, where she was one of the few women of African-American descent. In this role, she campaigned for social justice, health care reform, and civil rights. She gained national notoriety for her sharp questioning style at hearings in the Judiciary Committee. She also supported progressive laws on police brutality, and climate action.
In 2020, she was selected as Vice-President by Joe Biden, and together they won the election against incumbent President Donald Trump. In the Senate, Harris played an important role in numerous close votes including the covid-19 pandemic and infrastructure reform. She was at the forefront of progressive initiatives aimed at improving health care, climate action, and minority rights.
What Does Harris Stand For? – Political Positions on Key Issues
In her 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, Kamala Harris focused primarily on social justice, health care, climate protection, and foreign policy. A central theme was the protection of women's reproductive rights. She promised to secure the right to abortion nationally and to remove all restrictions.
Harris planned on raising the minimum wage, extending maternity protection, scrapping the taxation of tips, and maintaining tax relief for the middle class by extending tax credits. She wanted to abolish regulations that allow employers to pay people with disabilities or employees in low-wage industries below the minimum wage. The fight against wage discrimination and the promotion of trade union rights were also core to her policy on labour.
In healthcare, Harris planned on improving accessibility by reducing the cost of medication, including a national cap on insulin costs. The introduction of a National Health Equality Programme which would combat health inequalities in minority and low-income communities was also part of her agenda.
Harris advocated for green infrastructure and strict emissions targets. She supported the expansion of renewable energies and prioritised the reduction of environmental inequalities, especially in marginalised communities, which are often disproportionately affected by pollution.
Regarding foreign policy, Harris continued to support Ukraine and advocated for increased US leadership at the global level. On the Gaza war, her stance was contradictory. While she was in favour of a ceasefire and funding humanitarian aid, she also reaffirmed American solidarity with Israel and broadly supported its military strategy. She also made it clear that she saw competition with China as an important issue, and would continue to invest in the military and economic strength of the U.S. to cement the country's dominant position in the world.
How Harris and The Democrats Lost the Election
In a profound wake-up call for the Democratic party, the Republicans still won despite a campaign coated in controversy, racism, hate, misogyny, and fascism. Election success was not quite a landslide, but the GOP did manage to win all seven swing states, and gain control of the Senate and House.
Harris’s campaign of hope and optimism couldn’t compete with Trumps grand promises of economic prosperity. The final electoral score was Trump 312, Harris 226.
This election Trump gained more popularity than ever with Hispanic and Black Americans. Harris, despite her huge focus on securing reproductive rights, received support from only 53% of female voters, down from the 57% that voted for Biden in 2020.
American’s felt like the Democrats had little to offer, confirmed by low voter turnout in blue states. Harris faced an uphill battle from the very start, caused by Biden’s late withdrawal, which left her little option but to build on the former president's campaign and strategies. Biden's plunging approval rating, particularly on inflation and immigration, was inherited by Harris as his Vice-President.
Her radio silence for much of her campaign left voters unclear on important issues such as Gaza. She also failed to explain her reasons for abandoning progressive positions on healthcare, climate change, and crime, leaving her with no obvious political profile.
As a former attorney general and senator, Harris has often taken a moderate course, appealing to more conservative voters and politicians. Whilst she did pursue criminal law reforms and advocated consensus-building, she did so with caution, and without far-reaching changes in the judicial system.
Harris failed to distance herself from the mistakes of the Biden administration and her record as an attorney.
Voters also doubted whether her goals would have been realised in a polarised political environment as the Senate and the House of Representatives were expected to be controlled by a Republican majority. The filibuster in the Senate, which blocks many progressive legislative initiatives, remains a key hurdle.
In her concession speech, despite previously labelling Trump a fascist and a threat to democracy, she urged a peaceful transition of power. Harris has vowed to continue fighting for her ideals, and urged young people to embrace their power, believe in the unbelievable, and continue to organise and mobilise for the things that matter most to them.
It is unclear as to where Harris’s career will take her next, but her legacy has left a mark on many. She provided hope and inspiration, she became the voice for American women, particularly women of colour, and her campaign raised a record $200 million in its first week. Stay tuned for updates on her next steps here.
Author: Maximilian Stark 01.11.24 (edited and translated by Rachael Mellor 17.11.24) licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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