After rising pressure from his party to step aside, President Biden
upended the 2024 election by abandoning his bid for reelection. Vice
President Kamala Harris said she would seek the nomination in his place,
and Biden gave Harris his "full support and endorsement" in a social media
post. "Democrats � it�s time to come together and beat Trump," he said.
"Let's do this." Harris said she was "honored" to have his endorsement and
intended to "earn and win this nomination" and "unite the Democratic
Party" to "defeat Donald Trump."

Harris taking the helm of the Democratic ticket is far from a done deal.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the party will
"undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward." The
statement made it clear that while Harris is "emerging as the prohibitive
favorite to become the party's nominee, it�s not so simple," The
Associated Press said. The Vice President is now charged with proving that
she can stand on her own against Donald Trump, a task further complicated
by her four-year struggle to distinguish herself while working in Biden's
shadow.

What has Biden done as president? Is Kamala Harris an asset or liability
for Democrats in 2024? Is a Biden-Harris ticket what Democrats want?

It is not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove
themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work. Harris'
"critics and detractors alike acknowledge that the vice presidency is
intended to be a supporting role," The New York Times said, and "many of
her predecessors have labored to make themselves relevant, as well."
Still, her track record as a Vice President will be put under even more
intense scrutiny now that she's on the cusp of securing the Democratic
nomination. Over the last four years, Harris has taken the lead on several
critical issues while Biden focused his efforts elsewhere.

Abortion rights
Abortion has become a central issue for Democrats following the Supreme
Court's decision to overturn federal abortion rights. Harris spent much of
the 2022 midterms appealing to voters with promises to prioritize and
protect reproductive rights. Since Roe fell, she has "been subtly making
herself the voice with a megaphone no one can ignore," said Philip Elliott
at Time, adding that Harris has met with lawmakers from at least 18 states
to discuss the issue. As Biden announced his 2024 candidacy, Harris gave a
fiery speech at a reproductive freedom rally at her alma mater, Howard
University. She blasted "extremist so-called leaders" for passing
restrictive abortion bans.

She needs a serious reputation boost, "which explains why Harris has made
abortion rights a central piece of her political identity," Elliott
continued. After all, outrage over Roe v. Wade "powered Democratic
candidates to unexpectedly strong showings in the midterm elections," and
many believe Harris "played no small role in that accomplishment," Elliott
said.

This year, Harris continued to put abortion at the forefront of her work.
In March 2024, she toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota that
provides abortion services. The White House said it was the first time in
U.S. history that a president or vice president has visited a clinic that
provides abortion services. The tour was the sixth stop on her "Fight for
Reproductive Freedoms" tour, which she started in January to "push for
more abortion access in the wake of the overruling of Roe v. Wade," said
NBC News.

Immigration and the southern border
Biden tapped Harris in the early months of their term to spearhead efforts
to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. It took her months to
make her first and only visit to the area, and the delay elicited backlash
from lawmakers on both sides. Her trip to Guatemala and Mexico was
ultimately overshadowed by an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News where
she "awkwardly downplayed the urgency" of the visit, The Washington Post
said. Since then, Harris has borne the brunt of the criticism from
Republicans as the border crisis worsens; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sent
multiple buses of asylum seekers from the border to the VP's home in
protest.

After withstanding the intense backlash of her perceived inaction, Harris
is still attempting to address the root causes of the immigration problem.
Her Central America Forward initiative has "yielded more than $4.2 billion
in private sector commitments" to support creating local jobs and other
measures to slow the flow of mass migration, CNN said last year. Some
experts have lauded Harris' ability to secure the investments "as her most
visible action in the region to date but have cautioned about the
durability of those investments over the long term," CNN said.

Harris still has an uphill battle ahead of her to reverse public opinion
about her work, or lack thereof, on the border. In January 2023, the
Border Patrol union lambasted her lack of progress. "If you were given a
job two years ago with the explicit goal of reducing illegal immigration,
and then you sit around and do nothing while illegal immigration explodes
to levels never seen before, you should be fired and replaced," the union
said on X.

Voting rights
Harris was also at the forefront of the administration's pursuit to codify
voting rights protections. She pushed for Congress to pass the Freedom to
Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would have extended the protections of the
1965 Voting Rights Act and required federal approval for some local
election law changes. The VP "dove into" the "chance to make her mark on a
hugely important issue," Eugene Daniels said in Politico. To further that
goal, Harris "helped craft political coalitions with civil rights leaders,
built outside pressure on Congress, and engaged privately with lawmakers."
Ultimately, her work "hit a brick wall" when Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
and now-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) rejected proposed changes
to Senate procedures to stop a Republican filibuster.

Harris' work leading up to the stalled legislation became "a microcosm of
her stint as vice president: one defined by sharp moments, mishaps, public
drama, private work and a touch of bad political luck," Daniels said.

What's next for Harris?
In the hours following Biden's public endorsement, Harris racked up
support from a number of high-profile Democrats. Former House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi endorsed Harris as Biden's replacement, calling her
"brilliantly astute" and the best person to defeat Trump in the fall. "My
enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal
and political," Pelosi said in a statement. Her endorsement came hours
after Harris' first public appearance since Biden dropped, where she
praised the president's "deep love of our country." Harris also earned the
endorsement of several potential challengers, including Governors J.B.
Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of
Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Tony Evers of
Wisconsin.

In the hours following Biden's public endorsement, Harris racked up
support from a number of high-profile Democrats. Former House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi endorsed Harris as Biden's replacement, calling her
"brilliantly astute" and the best person to defeat Trump in the fall. "My
enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for president is official, personal
and political," Pelosi said in a statement. Her endorsement came hours
after Harris' first public appearance since Biden dropped, where she
praised the president's "deep love of our country." Harris also earned the
endorsement of several potential challengers, including Governors J.B.
Pritzker of Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of
Kentucky, Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Tony Evers of
Wisconsin.

Within the first 24 hours after Biden's endorsement, donors raised a
record-breaking $81 million for Harris' campaign. That number jumped to
$100 million by Monday evening, "far surpassing the $53 million that
Trump�s political operation touted raising after his May conviction in a
Manhattan business fraud case," CNN said. Over 1.1 million donors have
contributed to the fundraising effort, with 62% of them donating for the
first time this election cycle, her campaign said.

In her first statement following Biden's announcement, Harris said she
intended to "earn and win this nomination." To earn the nomination, she
will need to "secure the necessary support from the party's delegates,"
CBS News said. This could take place on an upcoming virtual roll call, or
during an open convention. The DNC Rules Committee plans on meeting soon
to "discuss next steps for the party's nomination process."

https://theweek.com/in-depth/1023057/kamala-harris-vice-presidential-
track-record