Kamala Harris breaks the mold and gets into the race

US Vice President Kamala Harris has just secured her nomination as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, after winning the support of enough delegates ahead of the party’s national convention. Harris thus becomes the first woman of Black and Asian descent to win the nomination in one of the country’s two major parties.

Now, the electoral contest between Democrats and Republicans takes on a very different tone just three months before the elections. Republican candidate Donald Trump enjoyed a significant lead in the polls against a fragile President Joe Biden, who finally decided to step aside and support his ‘vice president’ Harris as his replacement.

Trump’s lead even increased after the attempt on his life. The Republicans proclaimed him a hero at their convention, and amid the euphoria, JD Vance was confirmed as his running mate, a young politician who embodies the continuity of Trumpism and his MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement. It seemed almost certain that Trump would defeat Biden.

However, the Republicans did not count on a change of candidate on the opposing side.

Kamala Harris started out at a disadvantage because she was the vice president, traditionally considered the fifth wheel of the cart, and because she represented minorities who have never been tested in these stages of the electoral race. But soon, her vitality and charisma began to convince the most influential members of her party until she consolidated her nomination. This also meant a streak of popularity among the electorate, since now the polls show that the Republican advantage has been reduced.

Trump and Vance were not prepared for this change. Instead of focusing on their electoral proposals, they preferred to disqualify their new opponent. Trump called Harris crazy and perverse, and falsely claimed that she initially defined herself as Indian, but now considered herself black only to win over the country’s black population. The younger Vance was even more radical in his attack on Harris, claiming that a woman without biological children, like her, could not feel that the future of her country was her own.

The insults have been well capitalized on by Harris, who has criticized the confrontational and divisive discourse that is so characteristic of Republicans in this era of Trumpism. Of course, that will not be enough to tip the balance in her favor. After all, many black and Hispanic voters abandoned the Democrats en masse when Biden was the candidate. Harris has to win them back without scaring away, for example, white workers who may lean one way or the other.

Voting is extremely fragmented in the United States. Harris can gain some additional support if she chooses a running mate who complements and does not compete with what she represents. Therefore, it is very likely that she will opt for a vice presidential candidate who is a man, white and who comes from a state that is not as liberal and democratic, such as California. Even the war in Gaza is a sensitive issue for the electorate, which will probably rule out a governor of Jewish origin as a running mate.

Hopefully, candidates from both parties will put aside personal, racial and religious attacks and focus on the policies they will adopt if they win the presidency. What happens in this world’s leading power has a significant effect on the rest of the world. For Latin America, migration and economic issues are of utmost importance. Even Bolivia, which has rejected having a friendly relationship with the northern power, should pay more attention to the changing of the guard in that country, trying to see opportunities for Bolivians instead of threats.