Vice President Kamala Harris is poised to make history as she prepares to be officially confirmed as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States next week in Chicago. If successful in the 2024 election, Harris, 59, would become the first woman and the second Black person to lead the nation, following in the footsteps of former President Barack Obama.
Harris has long been a trailblazer in American politics. Born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, she was the first woman, African American, and Asian American to serve as Attorney General of California. She later broke barriers as the first woman of color to be elected Vice President in 2020. Despite these milestones, Harris’s initial campaign for the presidency in 2019 struggled to gain traction, leading her to exit the primary race before being chosen as Joe Biden’s running mate.
With Biden, 81, having withdrawn from the 2024 race, Harris now has the opportunity to bypass the grueling primary process, which often tests candidates’ ability to appeal to a broad base of voters. This unique position allows her to focus directly on the general election, where she will likely face former President Donald Trump.
In a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans indicated that gender does not play a significant role in their choice of president. Sixty percent of respondents expressed confidence that a female president could handle the pressures of the office as well as a male counterpart, with 27 percent believing she would perform better.
Sonia Gipson Rankin, a law professor at the University of New Mexico, pointed out that while many countries around the world have embraced female leadership, the United States has yet to do so. Harris’s candidacy could change that, building on the legacy of Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote in 2016 but lost the presidency due to the Electoral College.
However, Harris faces challenges beyond the general election. Political scientists like Regina Bateson of the University of Colorado Boulder highlight the phenomenon of “strategic discrimination,” where party insiders and donors may withhold support from a woman of color out of fear that voters will be biased. This often occurs during the primaries, but Harris’s position as the Democratic nominee could spare her from such challenges.
Flanked by her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris aims to win the trust of all Americans, regardless of ethnicity or gender. Despite early attacks from Trump, who questioned her racial identity, Harris remains focused on uniting the country. Her campaign has already garnered substantial support, including a recent fundraiser that raised over $4 million from a group called “White Dudes for Harris.”
As Harris prepares for the battle ahead, she carries with her the hopes of breaking yet another glass ceiling in American politics.
