cover of episode The Astonishing Rise—and Uncertain Odds—of Kamala Harris’s Presidential Campaign

The Astonishing Rise—and Uncertain Odds—of Kamala Harris’s Presidential Campaign

2024/10/11
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Following Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, Kamala Harris swiftly secured the Democratic nomination. She activated a pre-existing network of contacts, reaching out to influential figures and delegates to consolidate support. Harris's decisive action and strategic outreach effectively solidified her position as the Democratic candidate.
  • Harris leveraged a comprehensive list of delegates and influential figures, compiled over years, to secure her nomination.
  • She prioritized direct outreach and rapid consolidation of support, bypassing calls for a more drawn-out primary process.
  • Harris's team viewed an open convention as a potential threat to her candidacy, motivating their swift action.

Shownotes Transcript

Since July 21st, when Joe Biden endorsed her in the Presidential race, all eyes have been on Vice-President Kamala Harris. The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos) has been reporting on Harris for months, speaking with dozens of people close to her from her childhood to her days as a California prosecutor, right up to this lightning-round campaign for the Presidency. “What’s interesting is that some of those people . . . were asking her, ‘Do you think there should be a process? Some town halls or conventions?,’ ” Osnos tells David Remnick. “And her answer is revealing. . . . ‘I’m happy to join a process like that, but I’m not gonna wait around. I’m not gonna wait around.’ ” But if Harris’s surge in popularity was remarkable, her lead in most polls is razor-thin. “If she wins [the popular vote] and loses the Electoral College, that’ll be the third time since the year 2000 that Democrats have suffered that experience,” he notes. “You can’t underestimate how seismic a shock and a trauma—that’s not an overstatement—it will be, particularly for young Americans who have tried to say, ‘We’re going to put our support behind somebody and see if we can change this country.’ ”