Harris quit the presidential race just in time
SAN FRANCISCO – Kamala Harris didn’t do a great many things well in her crash-and-burn campaign for president. But her swift exit from the race was executed perfectly.
By quitting when she did, Harris avoided embarrassing losses in several early contests and, most important, her home state of California, preserving her status as a leading vice presidential prospect and positioning her as a strong candidate for a place in the Cabinet, such as attorney general, in a Democratic administration.
The freshman U.S. senator also gave herself more than adequate time to politically recover ahead of a 2022 reelection campaign, should she decide to seek a second term.
Not that Harris need worry too much about hanging onto her Senate seat – though some remedial work remains to be done.
Speculative talk has circulated of a challenge within the Democratic Party; one name mentioned is billionaire Tom Steyer, should his presidential bid fail. But even if she faced a primary opponent, Harris would start the contest as a solid front-runner given two big advantages: her gender and her political base here in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Women, a key part of Harris’ support, generally turn out to vote in greater number than men, and Northern California typically holds more sway in statewide elections than Southern California.)
“She’s a formidable political talent who was burdened in this race by a strong field, the inability to settle on a message and some troubles internally,” said Rose Kapolczynski, a veteran Democratic strategist who has remained neutral in the presidential nominating fight. “But that doesn’t mean the impressive talent isn’t still there.”
At 55, Harris is young enough to seek the presidency again, or run for California governor, an executive position the former state attorney general was thought to covet before choosing instead to run for Senate in 2016.
On the more immediate horizon is the possibility of being chosen as someone’s vice presidential running mate. One of the main job descriptions, leading the attack on the opposition, is a role for which the pugnacious ex-prosecutor seems particularly well-suited.
In addition, Harris’ age, gender and ethnic background – a father from Jamaica and mother from India – would offer a distinct counterbalance if former Vice President Joe Biden or another white male became the Democratic nominee.
Although Harris and Biden notably clashed over his record on issues involving race – an attack that deeply and personally wounded him, according to people close to Biden – he did not rule out considering her as a running mate. “I’m not good at keeping hard feelings,” he told reporters shortly after his erstwhile rival quit the race.
All those calculations may have been moot had Harris, with her fundraising dried up, not departed the contest as expeditiously as she did.
“By getting out of the race early there’s time for hurt feelings to heal,” said Dan Schnur, who served as a strategist for Republican California Gov. Pete Wilson’s unsuccessful 1996 presidential run. “If she were still fighting this out in June, it would be a lot harder for her to make amends with the nominee. Nominees are much more forgiving when the scars aren’t as fresh.”