This summer, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden shocked the nation. On July 21, the current president announced his departure from the 2024 election.
“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said.
The last time America saw a presidential candidate drop out of the race was 56 years ago.
“The only example that I could come up with is Linden Johnson in 1968, but that was the end of March of 1968,” US History teacher Valerie Schrag said. “This was mid-July, with basically 100 days to go. In that way, it’s completely unprecedented for this to happen.”
Throughout his campaign, Biden faced loads of criticism. Many voters were concerned that he was too old and some speculated that he was showing early signs of dementia. He was losing the support of the Democratic party; they were not rallying behind him.
The Biden administration has been a supporter of Israel; among young democratic voters, this has been cause for significant condemnation. Such unenthusiasm was a primary reason for Biden’s decision to drop out.
“I’ve noticed that people have been straying away from politics because they don’t feel like their candidates represent them,” Young Democrats Club co-president Sylvia Oparaji said. The same day of his announcement, Biden publicly endorsed Harris. Immediately, she began her campaign. The campaign centers itself around pop culture, women’s rights, embracing diversity, and appealing to the middle class.
“She [Harris] is going to bring in a lot more people and engage with the youth a little bit more. A wider variety of people is a benefit to the democratic party,” Oparaji said.
When Biden and Harris won in 2020, Harris broke history as the first woman to be vice president, and she plans on breaking it again. If she wins, she will be the first woman and person of South Asian descent to be president.
“Even though we had a black president, that intersectionality between a woman and being black is very inspiring,” Oparaji said.
Voters have shown more enthusiasm towards Harris, bringing the presidential race to a new level. Another interesting component of her campaign is her age, being younger than both Biden and Trump.
“We have a race that is far more competitive than the rematch of Trump and Biden,” Schrag said. “Judging American public opinion, before Biden dropped out, a lot of Americans on both sides weren’t terribly excited about their candidates. What the democratic party has now is a new generation in Kamala Harris.”
At the Democratic National Convention, many top democrats endorsed Harris. Notable speakers like Hillary Clinton, Barack & Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Tim Walz, and even members of the infamous Central Park Five all showed their support and commitment to the Harris campaign.
On August 22, the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Harris formally accepted the nomination with the crowd roaring.
“On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth,” Harris said. “I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America.”
Kamala Harris stepping up could change the course of history. When Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016, women around the world lost hope. But now that the democratic party has Harris on their ballot, the United States has another chance to be led by a female president in 2025.
“When I think about how many women’s firsts I have seen in my life, this is the next step, if the American people choose her as the best candidate,” Schrag said. “But I’m also guarded, because I have seen hopes fail. I firmly believe that representation matters for everyone. When you see somebody else doing a job, you think ‘I can do that too,’ because what you see, you can believe.”
