Harris will win by pulling voters from the middle – Trump’s lead will evaporate

[Robin, 7-21-24, Sacramento Bee, “Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump and prove America is ready for a female president | Opinion,” THE SACRAMENTO BEE, accessed July 21, 2024, https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article290253104.html

Harris’ sudden candidacy represents hope that is desperately needed among the centrist and left-leaning American electorate, many of whom could not imagine President Joe Biden beating Trump. Now that the party has listened to voters and Biden has been convinced to step aside, it’s time for us to line up behind Harris.

But as much as centrists and progressives alike would love to see a woman of color in the Oval Office, it’s going to be a tough campaign over the next few months for 59-year-old Harris, whose vice presidency has been marred with embarrassing political missteps as much as there’s been rampant racism and misogyny to block her way. Harris’s approval rating slumped drastically in the first year, making her one of the least popular vice presidents in history. But partially, at least, that narrative comes from one bad poll conducted in 2021, in the depths of the early pandemic and during a downturn in the economy. The title of the first female vice president was always going to make it tough for the person breaking that barrier. And historically, the possibility of a female president hasn’t gone well for the candidate. (See: Shirley Chisholm, Michele Bachmann, Jill Stein and Hillary Clinton.)

But do Americans share enough disgust over Trump this year to forget their traditional misogyny when it comes to the top job? Harris may be the right candidate to overcome it. Important swing states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada have large Black communities, who may energized to put the first Black female president in office. And women, pregnant people and those who love them of every gender may also see an ally in Harris to help reinstate the protections Roe v. Wade once offered. Trump is leading in the polls, but his lead can be overcome.