Fresh out of Barnard College with a degree in political science, Riley is learning the ropes as a writer and reporter for GZERO. When she isn’t writing about global politics, you can find her making GZERO’s crossword puzzles, conducting research on American politics, or persisting in her lifelong quest to learn French. Riley spends her time outside of work grilling, dancing, and wearing many hats (both literally and figuratively).
On Monday, her first full day in the race, Vice President Kamala Harris secured the majority of Democratic National Convention delegates, meaning she will likely soon become the party's nominee.
How it happened: The delegates, who include party officials, activists, volunteers, and lawmakers, decided to lock down the nomination by circulating a Google form to vote on whether to endorse her.
The news came after Harris made her first public appearance since President Joe Biden left the 2024 presidential race. Speaking at the White House during an event to celebrate the NCAA championship teams, Harris praised the president’s accomplishments and said his decision to drop out on Sunday was motivated by a “deep love of our country.”
She took to the stage with all the confidence of someone who had reportedly raised over $200 million in just 24 hours, $150 million from major donors and $81 million from small donors. The Democratic Party donation platform ActBlue reported that the number of small donors marked “the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”
Later in the day, speaking from her campaign headquarters in Delaware, Harris offered a peek at how her campaign will grapple with Donald Trump, framing his economic plans as a sop to the wealthy while distinguishing her background as a prosecutor from her opponent’s criminal convictions and other legal troubles. “Hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said. “In this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his.”
She also gained the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who urged her colleagues to quickly unify behind the vice president. Pelosi is the highest-ranking Democrat to endorse Harris, and all her would-be challengers have already pledged their support.
But two other top democrats, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York,continue to hold out, saying that, as of now, they are not endorsing Harris but respecting her wish to “earn” the nomination through an open and competitive process. Former President Barack Obama has also not endorsed her.
Harris’s strengths and weaknesses
Harris, at 59, injects relative youth into the campaign. This not only renders the GOP attacks on 81-year-old Biden irrelevant, but it’s also bringing a fresh energy to the race. Her team is leaning into the endorsement “Kamala is brat” from millennial pop star Charli XCX (originator of the “Brat summer” trend), for example, and her supporters are dubbing themselves the KHive, an homage to Beyoncé’s “Beyhive.”
Harris will also highlight her career as a prosecutor, contrasting herself with Trump, a convicted felon, and complicating the GOP’s focus on “law and order.” But her record also enables both progressives and conservatives to point to times when she was either too tough, or not tough enough, on crime.
The GOP is especially likely to highlight a decision she made as San Francisco District Attorney to not seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a police officer in 2004.
Harris is also a pro-choice woman, which could be an advantage in the post-Roe era in which ballot measures to protect abortion rights have generally benefited Democratic candidates. Whereas Biden rarely used the word abortion, Harris has visited an abortion clinic on the campaign trail.
But she is also, as a Black woman, likely to face disadvantages in a country where women and Black candidates are often held to a more critical standard. The right, in particular, has recently taken square aim at D.E.I. programs, and in that vein is already questioning the merit of Harris’s elevation to the vice presidency in 2020.
The GOP can also use Biden’s unpopularity against her, specifically on issues like the economy and immigration. As VP, Harris was given the southern border as a portion of her issue portfolio. Whether there is daylight between Biden and Harris’s foreign policy remains an unknown, owing to her limited track record on international affairs. But she will face an early campaign test this week, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington on Monday for a three-day visit. Harris pointedly announced that she will not preside over Netanyahu’s address to Congress but will meet with him privately later in the week.
