Democratic Party members, apparently panicking over reports of President Joe Biden’s possible exit from his re-election campaign, have made a proverbial pact with the devil to replace the octogenarian candidate.
That is, if a Reuters report on Wednesday is to be believed.
Citing seven anonymous “senior” sources who leaked information from within the Biden campaign, the White House and the party itself, the report said one name stands out as the leading candidate to replace Biden’s spot on the ticket.
Vice President Kamala Harris now leads the pack of potential contenders, sources said.
Biden’s replacement has become a headline-dominating issue since the president’s troublingly poor performance in Thursday’s debate against the likely Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.
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Several names have been floated as possible replacements for Biden, but Harris has emerged as the leading candidate, according to Reuters.
The move would certainly bring some immediate benefits to Democrats’ attempt to maintain executive power by any means necessary.
Foremost, Harris would have access to campaign coffers.
If she were to be relegated again to a vice presidential post by another candidate on the ticket, this would not be the case and the fate of those millions of dollars becomes murky.
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Harris would also inherit Biden’s campaign infrastructure, allowing her to move relatively easily toward a primary nomination.
As CNBC noted, the vice president also maintains connections to donors and supporters of her failed 2020 presidential campaign.
However, Harris is not a perfect candidate and has enough troubling history that her selection could be an unmitigated disaster for Democrats.
The Democratic National Committee knows this all too well. DNC focus groups have found that voters simply don’t like Kamala Harris.
Some of Harris’ critics cited her irritating and seemingly forced laugh. Others questioned whether Biden likes her at all.
In the past, Harris has used these criticisms to make herself look like a victim.
Then there’s the small matter of who he’ll be facing.
Trump has already attacked Harris. A primary showdown between these two would be entertaining, to say the least.
While it has not been decided who will replace Biden or whether the president will even drop out of the race, one thing is clear: the Democratic Party has some tough decisions ahead of it if it wants to avoid a huge mistake.