Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

A Short Election Campaign — Bane or Boon for the US Presidential Election?

Terri E. Givens - terrigivens.com
3Streams
Published in
3 min readAug 6, 2024

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In most Western democracies, election campaigns are relatively short, compared to the United States. Campaigns for President last nearly 2-years, and Congress is always in campaign mode. With Joe Biden’s withdrawal on July 21st, there are less than 100 days for Vice President Kamala Harris to make her case to the American People. Although some may consider the short campaign to be a problem in a system that is used to years-long presidential campaigns, the Democratic Party and Harris have made a quick pivot that has mobilized hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic donors and volunteers. In this case, the short campaign means the GOP will have to spend time shifting their focus from Biden to Harris, while she gains the benefits of a well-oiled campaign machine.

The Democratic party is known for its reliance on small donors and on-the-ground volunteers. However, after Joe Biden’s poor performance in the first debate with Trump, many supporters were wary of putting money and energy into a lethargic candidate and campaign. The debate over whether Biden would continue as the candidate seemed to be decided, as he insisted that he was ready to beat Trump as late as July 20th.

All of that change on July 21st, at 1:45 pm Eastern, when President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for the nomination. Soon after, he endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to take his place as the Democratic Party nominee.

Harris announced she was running for the nomination later that afternoon. She quickly gained the endorsements of Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Congressional Black Caucus and many other important leaders in the Democratic Party. That evening, over 90,000 Black women across the US joined in a Zoom call and via YouTube to organize efforts to support the new candidate. These calls are continuing, with different groups raising millions of dollars to support the Harris campaign, and the party raising over two-hundred million dollars, mostly in small donations.

Although many were concerned about the process needed to switch candidates, Harris has gone on to consolidate her hold on the nomination, getting the endorsements of most of her potential challengers, including many who are now under consideration for Vice President. All of the state delegations are expected to support her nomination as the party conducts a virtual roll call in order to submit the name of the nominee in advance of state ballot deadlines.

It appeared that the Republican Party, and its nominee, were not prepared for the sudden switch to Harris and in particular, the quick consolidation of support behind her. Trump is showing little interest in debating Harris, and that will likely continue after a disastrous interview at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference on July 31st. Trump’s focus on Harris’ race, and whether she is Black or Asian, doesn’t appear to be winning him any support from either community. Current polls are showing Harris with a slight lead. It is expected that she will gain a “convention bump” as well.

The Harris campaign has been able to take advantage of enthusiasm for her candidacy, which has overshadowed not only the Republican convention, but even the assassination attempt on Trump, which some thought would change the campaign. Trump’s slight wound has healed, and the issue has receded into the depths of the 24-hour news cycle.

This is an unprecedented time in US politics, and there are many hurdles ahead for the Harris campaign, but she has gotten a running start, and as those in other countries know, shorter campaigns are the norm in democracies. In fact, campaigns were much shorter until the 1960s, due to the increased importance of presidential primaries. States compete to see who can be first, and parties have tried to shift the primaries in order to give voice to states with larger populations.

The upcoming Democratic convention on August 19th will be an important milestone for the party and Harris as it kicks off the last round of the campaign. There will be many hurdles along the way, but it will be a fascinating time for US politics and the world.

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3Streams
3Streams

Published in 3Streams

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Terri E. Givens - terrigivens.com
Terri E. Givens - terrigivens.com

Written by Terri E. Givens - terrigivens.com

Professor of Political Science, McGill University. Higher Ed Leadership, Immigration & European politics. Author of Radical Empathy & The Roots of Racism

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