Gender Politics: Can Vice President Kamala Harris win in November?

Gender Politics: Can Vice President Kamala Harris win in November?

Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) announced she was seeking the Democratic 1972 nomination, becoming the first woman and first African American to run for a major political party’s presidential ticket. Chisholm’s announcement was indeed historic. And what we know is that race and gender have always been at the center of politics. In the current polarized, politicized culture war, gender has been a key factor in the discourse of the upcoming presidential election. Vice President Harris’s candidacy, in this context, represents not just an opportunity for change, but a significant step forward in the fight against ongoing racism and sexism.

The other woman who was a serious contender for the presidency was Hillary Clinton (subsequently losing to Donald Trump), who inspired a wave of women to run for office. That means that Americans have had more opportunities to see women as candidates, elect women, and see women hold public office since Clinton’s 2016 campaign. All of these things alter the context voters will choose in 2024 in ways that might help Vice President Harris. 

However, there are differences between 2016 and 2024 that work to Harris’ advantage. First, Trump remains a polarizing figure in American politics who is unpopular with many voters. In 2016, Clinton had to paint a picture of what a Trump presidency would look like. Now voters know what it was like, and many do not want to return there. Also, Clinton was not very popular or liked as a well-known political personality. Vice President Harris is likable, and the country can learn more about her, thus their likeability and her potential to mobilize voters. Second, with the Dobbs decision (in which the Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion), the issue of reproductive rights is a more powerful mobilizer for a subset of voters. Harris is well-positioned to activate those voters and speak forcefully on this issue. Even in the first days of her candidacy, she’s talked about fighting for abortion rights and taking a hard stand against Israel, calling for a cease-fire in ways that Biden did not. This will be an essential part of her campaign.

For these reasons, several small donors raised over thirty million dollars on the first day of her candidacy. This grassroots support, large donors’ support, and her choice of Gov. Tim Waltz continue to excite her base. However, significant questions still loom for me: Is the excitement and energy post-Biden enough to organize disengaged and disenfranchised people to turn out and vote? Is this going to excite the white moderate middle? Is the country ready for a woman—a Black and South Asian woman president?

In the age of political violence, the racist and sexist attacks on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee continue. As former Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said, “You don’t need to talk about what she looks like or what gender she is…” Unfortunately, these attacks persist, reflecting America’s penchant for racism and sexism, which can prevent her from winning. Harris also has other challenges outside her race and gender – she will not inherit Biden’s coalition. There is a plethora of misinformation and disinformation that has and could further damage her credibility among key voting audiences, making the facts about her record vital, especially among Black men and younger Black voters who are less motivated by attacks on social issues.

What we know is that it is hard to be a woman, especially a black woman, and blaze trails in pretty much any space, especially elected public office.  Black women are not well represented among candidates in our national politics. According to a Justice For All report, 95 percent of elected prosecutors are white, 79 percent white men; three in five states have no black elected prosecutors; and just 1 percent of elected prosecutors are minority women.

In her career as a public prosecutor, Harris has achieved some notable victories in criminal justice reform, including efforts to reduce recidivism and eliminate bias in law enforcement. She was the first attorney general in the country to require a statewide policing agency to wear body cameras and an implicit bias training program for police officers. She also burnished her progressive credentials in 2004 with a controversial decision as district attorney not to seek the death penalty for a man suspected of killing a police officer. According to PolitiFact, she championed The Back On Track program, which was implemented to help nonviolent, first-time drug offenders transition back to communities they belong to and prevent recidivism.

She also helped propel the Open Justice initiative, a data-driven project that provides information on police custody deaths. Beyond criminal justice and law enforcement, she helped broker a mortgage relief settlement where California homeowners received $18.4 billion in mortgage relief during the housing market crash. As a Senator, she has introduced legislation to protect forests and rivers in California. She, along with other African American Senators, Sen. Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Scott (R-SC), introduced the Justice of Victims of Lynching Act of 2018.

Kamala Harris’ path to victory must continue to include her initial base: black, young, and women of color voters. We must redefine her and share her record before others are allowed to, crystalizing her vision for the future of America and attracting other Americans. 

This moment has symbolized the power of black people’s organizing – the voices and voters that have historically delivered elections in this country. This momentum must not cease – there is collective power. We have done this before – through the collective power of organizing that got Obama elected. These are the results of the powerful voting bloc that black women comprise and have long been at the forefront, even before Shirley Chisholm showed up. Let us follow their lead – the lead of Black women – by electing the first Black (and South Asian) woman as president of the U.S. and ensuring everyone we know votes and that the people have the facts, not misinformation. The Harris-Waltz campaign must message progressive issues through Black values and with the understanding that not all masculinity is toxic and that there are men who do not embody the white cisgender male Christian heroic aggressor embodied in Trump and Vance. 

This discourse is an endorsement, but it is also an encouragement to take your time and make your best effort to understand the nuanced reasons for choosing the next Democratic nominee over the less intriguing options provided by the others. Anecdotally, if the election were held today, in August 2024, Vice President Harris would win the popular vote but not the electoral college, thus making Trump the president again. It is going to be a long few weeks, so do not allow your biases or prejudices against women, or your misguided or theologically flawed interpretation of the role of women, to take over because you think a woman can not lead. She can!

Professor Quardricos Bernard Driskell is a graduate of Morehouse College and Harvard Divinity School, a federal lobbyist, and an adjunct professor of legislative politics at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Follow him on Twitter @q_driskell4