Kamala Harris has long been criticised for not being up to the task of being a heartbeat away from the presidency. Democrats are already hailing her as their greatest option for stopping Donald Trump’s comeback.
Despite setting a precedent as the first woman, Black, and South Asian vice president in American history, the 59-year-old Democrat has long struggled with approval ratings comparable to or worse than President Joe Biden’s.
However, in the last year, Harris has undergone a transformation.
And now that Biden has endorsed Harris after shocking the world by withdrawing his own reelection attempt on Sunday, she is on the verge of making history.
Harris will hope she has done the hard work to secure her entire party’s support in the midst of the Crisis.
As the aged Biden faded over the last year, his “veep” emerged as a force on the campaign trail, advocating for abortion rights and appealing to core constituencies such as suburban women and Black men.
With a propensity for the f-bomb and her family moniker of “Momala” spreading viral, she has now begun to pierce through the noise and reach people who were previously uninterested.
She has also received praise in party circles for being faithful to the 81-year-old president over the last few weeks, even while political vultures circled his candidature.
She is now expected to face Trump, a tough opponent who beat Hillary Clinton in her bid to become the first female commander-in-chief in 2016.
The fact that Harris has based much of Republican criticism of her on racism and sexism would certainly make a victory all the more satisfying for her.
Trump and other Republicans have significantly increased their assaults on her as Biden’s position eroded and surveys indicated Harris would do better against him than Biden.