The Harris campaign is reportedly bracing for the worst with Democrat party factions fighting for influence over Vice President Kamala Harris’s choice of a running mate.
The Democrat party that allegedly bubbled with unity and oozed enthusiasm is now purportedly overcome with disunity and turmoil behind closed doors. The division centers around Harris’s pick for a running mate. Many want Harris to choose a more moderate Democrat, while others want Harris to pick a candidate more ideologically aligned with the far left.
Pro-Israel Gov. Josh Shapiro (PA) is opposed by the far left, while Gov. Tim Walz (MN) is more favored by the radicals. Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ) appears to be viewed as the safest choice, but the one most disliked by the base. Gov. Andy Beshear (KY) appears to be the compromise candidate.
Reports indicate Harris will announce her decision by Wednesday. Whoever she settles on, one corner of the party will have to accept the choice, raising concerns of continued “fissures,” according to the New York Times:
The competitive, divisive primary that many Democrats long wanted to avoid has arrived anyway — playing out largely behind closed doors in a fight over the bottom of the ticket.
The final stage of the campaign to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate reached something of an ugly phase in recent days as donors, interest groups and political rivals from the party’s moderate and progressive wings lobbied for their preferred candidates and passed around memos debating the contenders’ political weaknesses with key demographics.
The disunity comes as Harris faces pressure from her radicalized allies to maintain her radical positions heading into November. Last week, anonymous Harris campaign sources tried to walk back at least four far-left policies that Harris has supported, outlined here.
Harris, one of the most liberal U.S. senators in 2019, must wrangle with her radical allies as she seeks to win independent voters in the so-called Blue Wall states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The left, however, remains adamant that Harris must carry its agenda into the general election, causing further division within the party amid running mate considerations.
The Harris campaign made it clear Monday that it will try and placate all sides of the party, though it remains unclear if consensus can be reached on the plethora of radical issues the left insists Harris must champion. Those policies include:
Since the party coronated Harris the party’s nominee a couple weeks ago (it became official on Friday) Harris has not held one serious interview, underscoring her apparent attempt to straddle all sides of the party. It also suggests she is concerned about answering questions about her radical record and indicates she might run a campaign similar to President Joe Biden’s, who seldom held solo press conferences and rarely sat for live interviews.
Harris cannot avoid questions forever. Republicans are quickly defining her as a radical Democrat who flip-flops on policies, a second Democrat strategist said. “They’ve got to get her out there soon because they can’t let this be part of the narrative,” the person said. “I know we’re riding high at the moment but that’s going to end soon and then what?”
More on Harris’s radical record is here .