What a Difference a Candidate Makes

Well folks, evidently, I was wrong in my last post about the presidential campaign. Those spending their time advocating for another candidate being in the race were in fact focusing their time productively judging by how things have panned out. President Joe Biden has stepped aside in his campaign for reelection, simultaneously endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who has now secured the necessary delegates to be confirmed as the official nominee of the Democratic Party as their candidate for president; and what a difference a candidate makes. The whole tide of the presidential race has now shifted. The momentum and enthusiasm behind Harris being at the top of the ticket are palpable. Who knew that the electorate would be this excited, or concerned if you’re on the other side, by Biden stepping aside?

Who knows if this momentum can persist all the way through to the election, but as of right now, the move looks ingenious. I know polls aren’t always reliable, in fact, one might suggest that they’ve been nothing but a distraction for the last few national election cycles. They are utilized as an indicator of how voters are viewing the candidates and for analyzing trends, however, and as of right now, Vice President Harris is gaining traction and is virtually tied with Trump in polling from a macro perspective. There are varying results poll-to-poll, but overall, they reflect the level of excitement that has been brought about by Harris becoming the nominee. Politics are as circumstantial as anything, but I must say Kamala Harris has accomplished quite a spectacular political transformation.

I’m not sure that very many pundits or experts in politics would have predicted that she could possibly be this popular as a candidate for president given the mixed bag of feelings amongst voters that seemed to follow her prior to this announcement, but here we are. A woman of Black and Indian heritage has risen to the very top of the Democratic Party and the party and its supporters seem as jubilant as ever about it. It took us a while to get here, but only in America, people. She looks like a political star shining as bright as any we’ve seen since President Barack Obama was a candidate back in ‘08. The optimism surrounding his campaign never subsided and persisted all the way through his inauguration. Obama was able to maintain that astounding level of positive energy around his campaign for a good number of months; maybe even a year or so. Harris being able to sustain in that way would be a tall task, but given the short runway, which I think plays largely in her favor, she may actually be able to pull it off or come close; it is possible.

The announcement of her new running mate, Tim Walz for Vice President, may tamp things down a bit. The excitement may subside a little and the joy may sober, but Kamala has already secured a great deal of the biggest indicator of support in politics regardless of Walz’s positive or negative impact; fundraising. Just after the announcement that the Vice President was stepping in to lead the ticket, fundraising picked up at a record setting pace. The Harris for President campaign raised over $310 million in July alone, more than doubling the Trump campaign’s $137 million dollar intake over the same period. It doesn’t look like the Walz pick is having a negative effect at all either at the moment. Just on day one of announcing him as her running mate, the campaign picked up another $20 million in funding.

Let’s all be honest with ourselves here folks, the candidate with the better funded campaign usually wins in politics; most of us know this. Reports have suggested that the Trump campaign does have more cash on hand, and the Harris campaign is outspending his, but campaigns aren’t typically won by holding on to money. Trump is the exception to almost every rule in politics, but this is the true indicator that Vice President Harris is undoubtedly a more formidable opponent and has a greater chance of winning than President Biden would have. Funding for Biden’s campaign, conversely, was slowing and trending toward drying up. He was struggling to raise money and gain any positive momentum after his disappointing debate performance. It, as much as any other factor, most likely played into why Biden chose not to keep running.

As of right now it appears that Harris will have no problems having a well-funded campaign and will at least be able to compete in that area with the Trump campaign all the way up until the election in November. Who knows if the polling will shift along the way (it most likely will), and who knows if the Harris-Walz ticket is capable of maintaining the level of enthusiasm around their campaign that they’re currently enjoying. Right now, however, in my humble opinion, she’s running a flawless campaign. As of this very moment on August 7th, the Harris-Walz ticket looks like the ticket for Democrats in 2024.