Vulnerable Democrats Who Avoided Biden Are Running to Harris
Plus: The MAGA hat gets some competition.
Do you remember the month of June? In terms of political news, it feels like it happened years ago. Back then, the Biden campaign looked moribund and virtually no Democrat wanted to be seen in public with the president. For example, when Biden held a major signing that month for an executive order addressing the high level of illegal border crossings, vulnerable Democrats were nowhere to be seen. The excuses were routine; those who bothered to say anything about it cited scheduling conflicts, prior commitments, and so forth. But the real reason was clear. One of the reasons top Democrats ultimately came together to convince Biden to pass the torch was the growing risk that his presidential candidacy would drag down Democratic incumbents fighting for their lives in various Senate and House races across the country.
Then, over the span of a couple weeks, decades seemed to happen. It all culminated in Biden stepping aside and Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the party’s presumptive candidate for president. The presidential race has since swung in Democrats’ favor—as of this morning, the RealClearPolitics national polling average has moved Harris into the lead over Trump—and with the party’s change in fortunes has come a renewed enthusiasm down the ballot for the top of the ticket.