At the DNC, Kamala Harris Made Her Case — But Did It Work?

There were only 31 days between President Joe Biden conceding the 2024 Democratic nomination and Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepting it. On July 21, 2024 when Biden formally withdrew, Democrats had spent more than three weeks in shambles, publicly feuding over the viability of Biden’s candidacy and who, if anyone, would be the pick to replace him. And on August 22, 2024, the last night of the DNC, Vice President Harris capped off one of the least probable and most impressive turnarounds in modern political history by affirming what she spent the last month demonstrating: She is the future of the Democratic Party.

After being handed a list of seemingly impossible tasks, Harris and her team faced and surmounted every single one to get her to that stage in Chicago — and how. In the wake of President Biden’s unprecedented concession with just over 100 days until Election Day, Harris had to gather a fractured party, consolidate her candidacy, select a suitable running mate, hone a meaningful message, and reintroduce herself to the American people — all while preparing a campaign to confront the greatest threat to U.S. democracy since the Confederates fired at Fort Sumter and kicked off the Civil War.

When you think of Biden’s unpopularity, the pressure from the political class, the weighty and controversial issues of the moment, and the outrageously compressed timeline, the path to the nomination had perils for even the most seasoned political operators. Yet Harris didn’t get bogged down at all, quickly unifying the party behind her, kicking off historic fundraising that would see her rake in upwards of half a billion dollars, and generating so much excitement that people have already started comparing her campaign to some of the greatest in living memory.

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) then was a test of whether she could maintain the momentum and give Democrats up and down the ticket a chance to succeed. Harris would need to put on a weeklong display of her ability to rally the party, coordinate a famously contentious coalition, stymie Republican attacks, and offer a message that both supports the nation’s aspirations and soothes our sharp divisions. After the last four days in Chicago, the verdict is in: It’s another resounding victory for Harris.

From the extended reflection on reproductive rights to the electric call to action by Michelle Obama to the sentiment and heart of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Vice President nominee Tim Walz, and the compelling capstone of her speech on the final evening, the entire convention was a testament to Harris’ political skill, tenacity, versatility, judgment, and capacity to operate on the fly. It’s everything we could ask for in a president.

In just a handful of days, Harris reset years of narratives about Democratic policy, patriotism, and identity — highlighting stories of community, immigration, determination, and opportunity as fundamental aspects of the American experience. Not to mention, leading so many “U.S.A.!” chants that you could be convinced that the Olympics never ended. It was such a comprehensive display of unity and consensus from across the party — and beyond — that it’s almost tempting to headline the whole event with: Democrats in Array.

That isn’t to say that Harris avoided every misstep, especially in regard to protestors. There were parts of the convention that felt decidedly out of step with the Democratic base and the energy of the crowd, and some of the most enthusiastically received speakers were situated out of primetime broadcasts, blunting the momentum of their messages. Scheduling also proved problematic, as Harris herself would be the only headline speaker of the convention to finish before 11:30 eastern time. But for all of the notable mistakes, none were big enough to undermine the mission of putting the best of the party and its new leader on display.

The campaign now moves forward into the intense final weeks, as ballots are sent out, early voting begins, and debate prep starts up in earnest. We will move on from the conventions, their pomp and pageantry, and ask harder questions of the candidates to ensure that we make the best choice for our next Commander-in-Chief.

It is almost guaranteed that we will have more unexpected twists and turns in what has already been one of the most volatile campaigns in decades. But for those of us who are invested in democracy, hope, joy, and a future based in all of the above, there’s not much cause to worry. We know from this week that Harris can handle the pressure. She already has.