WASHINGTON — US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has asserted that America is prepared to elect its first Black woman president.
Reflecting on her 2019 presidential bid, Harris recalled the skepticism she faced: “In my entire career, I’ve heard people say when I ran… people aren’t ready, it’s not your time, nobody like you has done that before. I haven’t listened, and I would suggest that nobody should listen to that kind of conversation.”
Despite her initial campaign struggles, Harris’s journey continued as she was later selected by Joe Biden as his running mate. If Harris, 59, wins against Donald Trump in November, she will become both the first woman and the second Black person, following Barack Obama, to lead the United States.
Trailblazer
Harris has already broken significant barriers. The daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, she was the first woman to be elected Attorney General in California, as well as the first African American and Asian American to hold the position. She also made history as the first female vice president in US history.
A September 2023 Pew Research Center survey revealed that for most Americans, gender does not influence their choice of president. Sixty percent of respondents felt a female president would handle pressure as well as a man, while 27 percent believed she would perform better.
“Female leadership has become common in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Yet, the US has yet to experience this moment,” said Sonia Gipson Rankin, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. She noted that although Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, she lost the presidency to Trump.
**Strategic Discrimination**
Regina Bateson, a political science professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, argues that while voters’ biases may not be the core issue, party insiders and donors often worry that voters will be biased. This “strategic discrimination” can result in a lack of support for women of color, especially during primaries.
Harris’s bid for the presidency has avoided these issues since Biden’s withdrawal from the race spared her the primary challenge of proving her electability. Now, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, she aims to gain the trust of all Americans.
Harris has already garnered support from diverse groups, including “White Dudes for Harris,” which organized a Zoom fundraiser in late July that raised over $4 million.
Trump has been quick to criticize Harris, alleging that she “turned Black” recently to gain electoral favor. Harris, who has always embraced her Black and Asian heritage, has denounced Trump’s comments as divisive and disrespectful.
J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, faced backlash when a 2021 video resurfaced in which he disparaged the Democratic Party. The controversy was amplified by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Glenn Close and was seen as a political misstep in a country with a historically low fertility rate. Vance has since attempted to clarify his remarks, claiming they were taken out of context.
Harris, who is married to Douglas Emhoff and has helped raise his two children from a previous marriage, does not have biological children of her own.
