In the course of a presidential campaign cycle, the choice of a running mate is more often than not a flash in the pan: a quick blast of energy, but ultimately much ado about nothing.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s choice of Sen. Kamala Harris is fundamentally different. It provides a crucial opening for a bolder narrative Democrats need to effectively defeat Trump on Election Day. It signals a commitment to continue building a new coalition of voters: seniors, Republican-leaning college educated suburban women as well as Black, Latinx, Asian-American, GenZ and millennial voters. It opens up a new national playbook for multi-state turnout as our normal election processes are upended.
Though she wasn’t successful in the Democratic presidential primaries, over the course of that race, Harris proved herself an inspiring, forward-looking leader capable of motivating a multiracial, multicultural new movement. Now, if the party gets behind her from a place of opportunity, not excessive caution, Harris on the ticket could benefit the Democrats over this cycle far more meaningfully than most vice-presidential nominees.
Her impact starts with the campaign narrative. The Biden campaign won the primary with one narrative, but because the entire world shifted with the COVID-19 crisis, it will need to win the general election with another. The campaign has two options in this final, crucial stretch: 1. Lay low, continue to watch Trump fumble, and leverage the resulting narrative of being the competent alternative; or 2. Seize this moment to outline a bold new vision based on the values of togetherness, empathy, and equity that COVID has demonstrated we need to recover. Harris can be a natural leader in delivering the clarion call around what the campaign is for, and where we go from here together as a country. She can do so in a way that speaks to the future of the party and most importantly, our country.
From a turnout perspective, the COVID-19 public health and the economic crises have rearranged the electoral ecosystem, and a new coalition of voters has taken shape. The selection of Harris again puts Democrats in exciting new territory to run a new type of presidential campaign. Vice-presidential candidates are often touted as delivering this or that state, with mixed results. But this year, not only is the narrative environment different, the entire election process has been upended. Harris’ selection signals a commitment to blue wall states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconscin, while blue island states like Georgia, Texas and Arizona remain real possibilities.
As the GOP and the Trump administration continue a white nationalist, race baiting campaign, we need to understand that this is an all-hands-on-deck moment.
We will need the right narrative and strong turnout not only to win the election, but to go into 2021 with the mandate necessary to boldly reimagine and establish a new American social contract that finally puts in place policies like universal, paid sick leave and Medicare for All, a green economy to reach climate neutrality by 2035, and a series of racial justice measures.
This election and the decade that follows is about rebuilding trust and truth with the American people, each other, and our public institutions. In selecting Harris, Biden was smart to listen to winds of the racial reckoning permeating our airwaves and our communities. Let’s make sure we support her in all the benefits she brings to the table. We can’t be afraid to rewrite the playbook. In this case, history is not our guide.
Wilnelia Rivera is Founder and President at Rivera Consulting, Inc. Katherine Adam is a vice president at the strategic communications firm Denterlein. They are co-contributions to the recent book Turnout! Mobilizing Voters in An Emergency
