The long-awaited search of a running mate for Joe Biden has finally come to an end with a reinforced purpose: to topple the incumbent president at any cost.
Senator Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s Vice President nomination on August 11. She was one of many potentially successful and equally qualified women politicians that were considered for the job of the Vice President. Selecting Harris for the job could prove to be a wise decision, resulting in polls giving him higher chances of him winning the presidential election this year.
The choice of a female running mate was not a surprise, since Biden had vowed to choose a woman during a debate with former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders months ago. That he chose a woman of color could be helpful in garnering African-American voters. Black voter turnout waned in 2016, but rose in 2018, and could see a further upsurge with Harris running alongside Biden. Additionally, when the country is raging against police brutality and racial injustice, a black candidate can serve as a symbol to reassure minority voters that their rights will be safeguarded once the Biden-Harris campaign comes to a successful end.
Harris herself is an experienced legislator and is currently serving as one of the Senators of California, so the choice of a black woman as a running mate can not be slandered by her opponents as a “publicity stunt”. She is considered trustworthy by her constituents as she has successfully advocated for climate change, healthcare for all and against the foreclosure crisis in California, to name a few of her many causes. Her involvement in these activities might come in handy to reinvigorate the pandemic-stricken economy after the presidential election favors the Democrats. Her work on the ‘Relief Act’ is proof of this, as it would provide a monthly check of $2,000 to the people and ban foreclosures and evictions due to unpaid mortgages and rents as a result of COVID-19.
Harris could bring even more experience to help Biden win if she heeds mistakes from her previous presidential campaign. She is a charismatic politician adorned with the qualities of an excellent debater. Along with her personable characteristics, picking her as a vice presidential candidate could help Biden raise funds for his campaign, as they will need as much money as possible to promote their ideas. That already seems to be the case — the duo managed to raise $26 million a day after Harris was picked as a running mate.
Defeating the Trump-Pence ticket is not going to be child’s play, however. President Trump, as shown during his past campaign, has grossly slandered each and every one of his opponents. He is an adept propagandist who succeeds in pandering to mass impulses rife in the country today, especially xenophobia and racism. Harris, because of her ambiguous ethnicity, could be a target of vilification by her opponents. That said, Harris’ commendable accomplishments as a Senator could help clarify her motive of serving the people as a Vice President, making her immune to such defamations.
The concern of voters regarding the eradication of pandemic has seen to have a major pivotal point during this election. If both Biden and Harris pledge to devise more efficient plans than the incumbent government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, they could shift the scales back to the Democratic Party’s side.
All in all, Biden has selected an appropriate running mate during this situation, since nobody could possibly deny how Kamala Harris has always bent over backward trying to solve people’s problems, pandemic or not.
