Allies of Kamala Harris are involved in a delicate behind-the-scenes effort to ensure that the vice president rises to the top of the ticket if President Joe Biden steps aside, according to five people involved in the project or with knowledge of the discussions.
The effort, which was not sanctioned by Harris or her team, became more urgent as Joe Biden’s presidential campaign appeared to be teetering on Thursday night.
The informal campaign is complicated by the urgency with which Harris would need to build a political operation, as well as craft a biography that makes it clear that she has more to offer than her high-profile defense of reproductive rights to include other foreign and domestic issues. the people involved said. The plan is to create a set of talking points about her accomplishments to paint a more complete picture of a candidate.
It is also an acknowledgment from his allies that there are still doubts within the party, including Democratic leaders, about his ability to win the presidency against former President Donald Trump. And there will be little time to, first, disrupt an open convention and, second, win in November.
The disjointed group is not trying to remove Biden, but rather activating an army to be ready to defend the person they believe should be the new presidential candidate.
“There is an effort underway to position a device to turn on the lights” when the time is right, said one person directly involved in the conversations, who, like others in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss private and sensitive discussions.
Those familiar with the effort — which targets Democratic Party leaders — say it includes former Harris staffers, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, civil rights leaders and longtime allies of the vice president.
“Two or three days ago people were quiet. And now, especially as of yesterday, people were thinking, ‘We need to be ready,’” the former Biden aide said. “They are young in infancy, but they grow stronger by the hour.”
At a dinner of CBC members and civil rights leaders this week, Rep. Jim Clyburn (DS.C.) strongly defended Biden’s position at the top of the ticket, but added that if he decides to leave of his own free will, his replacement will need to be Harris, the person said. Clyburn hinted that they would need to defend Harris if Biden dropped out of the ticket.
Clyburn’s main message was that open caucuses are confusing and would likely lose the party in the election. Two of the people who spoke to POLITICO said the leaders at the table agreed.
A spokesperson for Clyburn did not confirm his comments, but pointed to previous comments in which he said Harris “absolutely”got your approvalif she was at the top of the list.
There is a dire need for this ad hoc apparatus: Harris has little political operation of her own. As a former senior adviser to the Biden administration said he is not involved in the planning but was briefed on the conversations: “There is no ‘Run, Kamala, Run’ group waiting in the wings. There are a lot of people who support her a lot, but she doesn’t have an external apparatus.”
As the conversation about Biden’s political future has evolved over the past three weeks, Harris and Biden’s allies have been disturbed that Democrats have been too open about the idea of bypassing her or making her fight for it, said multiple sources.
David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, told MSNBC that Harris would be “smart to say, ‘Hey, I want to win this.’ She is in absolute command.”
Still, he added, “in almost every scenario she will be the Democratic nominee. Maybe it’s a baton transfer, maybe it’s open.”
Much of this depends on what Biden does. If he gave up and openly said there should be an open convention or did not take a position, Harris’ path would become more difficult as she would have to compete with an entire slate of ambitious presidential candidates.
One person involved in the effort said the tentative plan is to first make clear that while they believe it would be a mistake to pass over the first Black woman vice president in history in a party supported by Black women, there are other political and political reasons. on policies to go with Harris.
“The first step is to make sure it is known that she is imminently policy qualified, from a noisy chorus of people making the case on TV and online,” the person said. “The second step involves an organized effort to defend, yes, the American people, but also to defend a convention, it is necessary to be it” for the same reasons.
Those involved have worked to keep the conversations private so as not to harm Harris’ standing with Biden or his inner circle, who could get the wrong impression that she was taking action.
Harris herself is also at a clear disadvantage due to her public and private loyalty to Biden. Unlike other alternative names that have been considered, Harris and her team cannot be seen as maneuvers against Biden.
“She’s an easy target. She can’t have any conversations with delegates or anything,” said one of the people involved in the planning. Other possible candidates “are being given free rein, managing to unseat the president and, at the same time, pushing for their own candidate. They are taking advantage of her loyalty.”
These allies see Harris’ silence as the best choice for her. She has been one of Biden’s most vocal supporters, both publicly and privately. She told her team to keep their heads down, not get involved in any planning and not speak to the press.
Unlike the fight to defend Biden, the battle to get Harris to the top of the ticket will have to be fought on multiple fronts, against a number of different party factions who want their preferred candidate to be at the top.
