Running a new candidate less than 100 days before the election may be ‘less than ideal’ for Democrats, but they seem optimistic that replacing 81-year-old Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris will fire up their base.
Harris is the frontrunner for the nomination after Biden’s momentous withdrawal, having lined up endorsements from the president himself and most big-name Democrats.
But worries remain about whether the VP – who is still trailing behind Trump in recent polls – is up for the uphill sprint Biden left her with as he resisted calls to step aside for weeks.
‘I can’t go backwards. Obviously, it’s less than ideal. But we are where we are,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., told DailyMail.com about Harris’ 100-day timeline.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the expected Democratic party nominee for president. But with nearly 100 days until the election, some lawmakers have questions over whether she can win over hearts and minds so quickly
With the structure and money of the Biden-Harris campaign already behind her, Harris is better suited than any of the other names floated to replace Biden at the top of the ticket.
‘She’s been vice president for three and a half years. I think she can pick up the mantle and go run and she has an apparatus. Right the Biden campaign she’s assuming that it’s not like she’s starting from ground zero. That’s what made her different than anybody else right?’ he continued.
Harris raised $81 million in the 24 hours after Biden dropped out and endorsed her to replace him.
‘That actually shows that there was a major enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans,’ Moskowitz said.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., a friend of Biden, said Harris would draw in young voters and black voter, after Biden was losing support from young and black voters.
‘We have to get young people excited. She’s clearly drawing in the African American community,’ she said.
‘The people of Flint, my hometown, the enthusiasm for Harris there, the level of enthusiasm that we’re seeing I’m not, not hyperbole, this sounds like a Joe Biden comment but hundreds of new volunteers walking into our headquarters across the state of Michigan people who are suddenly really excited,’ Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., explained of what he’d seen in the one day since Biden dropped out of the running.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to her campaign headquarters in Delaware Monday
The campaign HQ was previously for Joe Biden but has since been repurposed for Harris
‘I love Joe Biden, but I think it’s a fact that we were having a difficult time activating our base. We have that problem solved.’
Kildee seemed undeterred by the short timeline Harris was operating under.
‘The fact of the matter is, we know Kamala Harris, so it’s not like she has to introduce herself,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘The decision about the outcome of the election generally does fall to the last 60 to 90 days. So we’re in the moment where people are making the decision.’
Kildee seemed hopeful that Harris would strike a more sympathetic tone to Gaza than Biden.
‘I have some differences with the administration in terms of the way the way the U.S. has been been dealing with Israel‘s prosecution of this war,’ he said. ‘But I do think there’s a possibility that this is a chance for us to turn the page on a whole number of issues that one included.’
Ted Lieu, D-Calif., vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said: ‘I think the base is very energized. I think you’re seeing energy through the entire Democratic Party, grassroots and rank and file members, and it’s very exciting to see.’
‘If young people vote, we will win,’ he added.
He told DailyMail.com that Harris is going to win because ‘she can seamlessly take over their campaign because she’s been part of it.’
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said that Harris is in a position to ‘seamlessly’ pick up Biden’s campaign
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told DailyMail.com he believes Harris will win and that the timing surrounding her campaign is ‘fine’
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said there is no concern over the ‘timing’ because the party is confident Kamala will win.
‘I think Kamala is gonna win,’ Garcia said. ‘So I think the timing is fine.’
His confidence comes from Trump leading the Republican ticket, who he says is a ‘horrible’ candidate that voters will surely reject.
‘I think that Republicans are scrambling you have no idea what they’re going to do and they have a horrible and a damaged candidate.’
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, also dismissed concerns over Harris’s expedited campaign by pointing to her tenure as VP.
‘The vice president has been part of every major legislative achievement that has been accomplished in the last three and a half years,’ he said. ‘She has been leading and governing.’
‘There’s a clear choice and I’m excited that President Biden, because of his 50 years of service continues to put the interest of the country before himself, and he’s passed the baton to the future of our party, the next generation of leadership in our Vice President Kamala Harris,’ he continued.
Another member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Illinois, told DailyMail.com Harris is actually ahead of the game because she has already been apart of a presidential campaign.
President Joe Biden walks through an aisle with U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., during a stop at a grocery store in Las Vegas last week. Horsford told DailyMail.com he is excited Biden ‘passed the torch’ to Harris
‘Ms. Harris has taken the time to call members to work the delegates. She’s already campaigned in all 50 states. 14 million people voted for the Biden Harris ticket.’
He also pointed to her record $81 million fundraising haul as an ‘awesome’ indication of her popularity.
‘She’s well prepared. She was in the wings. This is a natural progression,’ he continued. ‘So I am excited for her.’