Why Kamala Harris failed to be the “change candidate”
di Valentina Cordero (Corrispondente da New York)
She was unable to carry out the message and the shift voters were hoping for
Criticizing and labeling your political opponent without actually offering voters a real and solid plan for the future will not lead you to the White House. This is what Democratic candidate Kamala Harris experienced on her own bare skin in this past presidential election.
The vice President failed to turn the page on her rival Donald Trump, who was again elected President on Wednesday November 6th, just a couple of hours passed midnight and after a long battle to reach the 270 electoral votes.
A big loss not only for Harris, who would have made history by becoming the first woman president, but for the entire Democratic party. But what actually went really wrong?
During her campaign, Harris was challenged many times to deliver voters a convincing plan on critical issues for the country. But every time, she just couldn’t do it. She was just unable to say what she would have done differently than President Joe Biden and by this way she might have offered a real change. She flip-flopped and changed topic, focusing on criticizing Trump on why he is the wrong leader for the US.
After President Biden dropped out of the race on July 21st amid concerns about his age and mental health, Harris was appointed with some skepticism to run for the White House. She started her 107-days campaign full of energy and hope that made a hearten momentum. However, that honey-moon didn’t last long. She struggled delivering her message leaving her almost like a stranger to the eyes of most of the voters who didn’t know who she really was and her history.
“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris said on The View on October 8th, when she was asked whether she would have done anything differently than President Biden. And that made her lose ground on voters, including the undecided ones. On the other hand, Trump was able to build rapport with voters because of his message about him bringing a different administration than the current one.
Of course, voters need a message of hope about living in a country where the inequality is reduced, there is no injustice, and where everyone can live happily. However, this is not enough. Voters need clear answers and solid plans on how they are going to make a living and pay their bills. And this is what Harris’s campaign lacked the most.
The state of Democracy (35%) and the economy (31%) were the very crucial issues for voters this year, as data from Edison Research and NEP via Reuters show. Abortion (14%) was the third most important problem, followed by immigration (11%), and then foreign policy (4%).
Key groups like Black voters, Latinos, and young people were disappointing to Harris. According to CNN exit polls, Trump got the support of 45% of Latino voters (setting a GOP record and surpassing Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush) and 13% of Black voters nationally, a surprisingly increase compared to the 32% and 8% saw in the 2020 election, respectively.
“Latinos were saying I don’t care what Trump says, I want to be able to pay the bills and send my kids to college, I want to pay the mortgage and afford a new car,” said to Axios Jeronimo Cortina, political science professor at the University of Houston.
Harris won the support of 54% of women, lower than the President Biden in 2020, when he got 57%. Trump still got 46% of women voters. It was a good number for Harris, but not what her party hoped for, given all the efforts to promote abortion rights as they did.
On top of that, Harris significantly lost the popular vote: the counting is still underway but, according to the Associated Press, she only got 47.5%, while Trump got 51%. She won 66.9 million votes, and Trump 71.1 million.
“I don’t think there necessarily was path here for her, David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama’s lead strategist acknowledged. “If you are the vice president of an administration people want to fire (the administration), you are way behind the eight-ball to start.”
Vice President Harris, who left the headquarter earlier during the election night without saying a word to her supporters, gave her concession speech on Wednesday afternoon, November 6th, at the Howard University campus in Washington DC.
“We will help him (Trump) and his team with their transition and we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power,” she said during her speech. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she added urging her supporters to not give up for their country.
