It now appears that the Democrat establishment has no other choice but to nominate Kamala Harris as their replacement for Joe Biden at the top of their 2024 presidential ticket. The same self-inflicted identity politics constraints which led to her becoming the vice presidential nominee in 2020, now ensure her becoming the last-minute choice of the Democrats’ national convention in Chicago next month.
While Mr. Biden’s promise to name a “black woman” as his running mate in 2020 restricted his choice to only very few possibilities, Kamala Harris can choose from a much larger group.
Her challenge, however, will be to convince a Democrat who has aspirations for higher office to join her on the ticket. Joe Biden became president in 2020 and Kamala Harris became vice president. Winning vice presidents have good possibilities to later win the presidency; e.g., Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and Joe Biden.
But as good as history has been for winning vice presidential candidates, it has been decidedly ominous for losing vice presidential candidates. For more than 100 years, no losing vice president nominee has been elected president. The last one who did was Franklin Roosevelt, who lost running for vice president in 1920, but won the presidency in 1932. Meanwhile, Estes Kefauver (1956), Ed Muskie (1968), Bob Dole (1976) Walter Mondale (1980), Dan Quayle (1992), Jack Kemp (1996), Joe Lieberman (2000), and John Edwards (2004) were all losing vice presidential picks who later ran for president and lost. (Mondale and Quayle, it should be noted, did win the vice presidency for one term, but lost re-election.)
Someone who ran for his party’s vice presidential nomination in 1956, but lost it, and then did run for president successfully was John F. Kennedy. It is likely that had Kennedy won the nomination in 1956, and lost that election, he would not have been elected president in 1960.
The “curse” of losing vice presidential nominees has lasted for a century. It is apparently the ultimate political dead end.
Despite the coming super-hype by the media for Kamala Harris, and the “unity” of her party behind her last-minute candidacy, it will soon become apparent she will not likely win in 2024. Her often disjointed and undecipherable public statements are commonplace, and her retail politics skills are modest at best.
A number of running mates have been floated for her upcoming 2024 campaign. For “balance” purposes, most of them are white males, and they initially included Governor Gavin Newsom of California, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Except for Senator Kelly, these figures are known to have presidential aspirations in 2028. Governor Newsom is from the same state as Harris, which presents a constitutional obstacle. Shapiro, Cooper or Kelly might tip the scale in their home states, but might not attract many votes elsewhere. Governor Shapiro’s strong support for Israel likely would be a negative in Michigan and perhaps in other states.
The losing vice presidential candidate “curse” could put a Harris running mate at a disadvantage in 2028 rather than giving him a leg up on rivals.
Since most of the names being put forward are effective retail politicians, in the daily focus of a campaign there is also the risk of a vice presidential nominee outshining or upstaging Harris.
The general voting public has good reason to feel they were deliberately deceived about President Biden by the Democrat establishment, the
biased national media, and especially Harris herself. The hype for the Harris candidacy, already underway, could be treated more skeptically than in the past, creating a campaign environment many or all of the figures named so far for vice president might be reluctant to enter, especially if the odds are significant that they probably cannot win.
Someone, of course, will be on the ticket with Kamala Harris in November. But as George McGovern learned in 1972, last-minute choices can hurt more than they can help.
Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona seem to be the most likely candidates.
Will they win her either North Carolina, Arizona or any other states ? History says no but a potential debate with J.D. Vance should be enlightening.
And you are right that last-minute V.P. choices can hurt more than help. President Trump and Senator McCain could both testify on the subject of buyer’s remorse on that score.
Don;t be surprised if the democrats pull a bait and switch at the convention. They know Kackling Kamala’s poll numbers are worse than Joe’s poll numbers. They need time to convince Michael Obama, um I mean “Michelle” to take the lead. I fully expect them to trot her out at the convention and say SURPRISE!
Still amazed (not really) that she was able to get “her” campaign up and running in 24 hours!!..posters, workers, etc. And now $100 million? I sure hope that includes the $91 million she inherited, that we were told could not be released until convention, but is now hers less than 2 days later? How can most of the Democrats put up with all the lying and lack of transparency. Their hatred of Trump is waaayyy worse than I thought!
Whoever the party picks for her, I know one fact: they won’t be JEWISH! That would alienate their anti-Semitic Hamas-loving base.
You overlook the fact that the Democrats have a robust election fraud network that has to be overcome and has yet to be properly exposed. We all know it’s there and all they appear to do is deny it in the face of proof. Why else would anybody, anywhere be against election security.
This more closely resembles an ill conceived, badly executed, and as is the norm in recent history, lacking in humor SNL skit than a political campaign for president. Somebody needs to stand up and ask Kamala how she thinks her current “run for president” might affect her self-proclaimed status as “a stalwart ally of North Korea” (her own words during a recent visit to South Korea, not mine). Beijing Joe, in all his corrupt splendor, has lost his marbles, Yadayada Kamala never had any to begin with, to the delight of hobby ventriloquist and puppeteer in charge Jugears Obama who likes his dummies light headed because they are easier to manipulate to match his words.
When she ran for President she didn’t win any delegates. Bernie Sanders was the leading candidate, but Obama and company couldn’t control him and so “THE PARTY” chose the two worst people to be their puppets!
And look at where we are at now! Lies, lies and more lies!
It is just my opinion that perhaps it was in the plans all along to put Harris there so she could complete the destruction she has been so excellent at with allowing the border to be crossed by millions, and other things which are not from stupidity, but through careful planning. They knew about Joe before he ran and he was put forward. People still don’t consider that the silliness could be a facade much like the farce of the Scarlet Pimpernel who was a good force in the novel, but a ruse could be any force other than what it seems. It seems to me that the open border was planned by at least a few in the machine.
camela, typical democrat = dumb, corrupt, liars, cheaters, useless, evil, anti-Christian, baby killers, fruits and nuts that don’t know which restroom to use, radical socialist/communist/marxist craving total absolute raw POWER to CONTROL everybody and everything to ENRICH themselves, and FORCE their evil anti-Christian lifestyle on children and society
They’ve already got Cammy’s third-world style posters out!
Sickening!
Let’s face it, if it’s breathing,almost has a pulse and make up can hide it’s zombie like appearance, who ever it is has already upstaged harris. Let’s hope it’s newsom,he fills the bill and once the scum bag losses maybe he’ll go away. Well, miracles do still happen, sometimes.
They will do anything to win over President Trump there hate for Trump is there platform they run on every word out of Biden’s mouth win over Trump care about nothing else that is Harris platform BEAT TRUMP they never talk about what they will do for this country my vote will be for President Trump not Harris.