After President Joe Biden’s widely panned debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as perhaps the president’s most forceful advocate.
Harris, who has enjoyed a strong governing relationship with Biden, is seen by many as a top successor to the president should he exit the presidential race.
But some of Harris’ allies are frustrated that Democratic figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are being touted more frequently than the vice president as potential Biden replacements in many circles, according to Politico.
“The fact that people keep coming back to this is so offensive to so many of us,” an unnamed Harris ally told the publication. “They still don’t get that the message you’re saying to people, to this Democratic Party, is, we prefer a white person.”
Another ally told Politico: “If they think they are going to get through South Carolina bashing an effective and qualified Black woman vice president — their instincts are as bad as I thought they were.”
Harris ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and there were high hopes for her campaign among many lawmakers and voters. But even after gaining traction following a primary debate where she skewered Biden over comments he made regarding his work with pro-segregationist lawmakers, her campaign faltered.
Her eventual selection as Biden’s running mate was praised by many Democrats — especially among Black voters in the party — which only strengthened after she was elected as vice president.
Harris is also popular among young voters and she has become by far the administration’s most prominent defender of reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But throughout much of her tenure, Harris has been dogged by low approval ratings alongside Biden. During her first two years in office, the coronavirus and a 50-50 Senate largely kept her in Washington, as she was needed to break ties on important votes.
And given her low numbers, some Democrats have expressed concerns that she might not be the party’s best option should Biden decide not to continue with his campaign.
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