The reverberations of Vice President Kamala Harris’s resounding defeat in the presidential election are echoing through the Democratic Party, with many pointing the finger directly at President Joe Biden for the party’s loss, The Associated Press reports.
While Biden led the nation through the pandemic and achieved significant policy wins, his age and lingering concerns about his mental acuity became major campaign liabilities, leaving many Democrats feeling he ultimately hampered the party’s chances at victory.
Now, with the party reeling from the loss and facing a Republican-controlled White House and Senate, a chorus of Harris allies are blaming Biden’s late withdrawal from the race, arguing that his decision to remain in the running until the summer put his own political ambitions above the party’s best interests.
“The biggest onus of this loss is on President Biden,” said Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate who endorsed Harris. “Had he stepped down in January instead of July, we may be in a very different place.”
Yang’s sentiment is echoed by many within the Democratic Party, with several senior advisers to the Harris campaign expressing deep frustration with Biden’s late exit.
While Harris generated considerable enthusiasm among the party’s base, she struggled to differentiate herself from Biden, leaving voters with a sense of déjà vu and lacking a clear vision for the future.
Had Biden stepped aside earlier, allowing for a competitive primary, strategists argue, it would have forced candidates to define their own positions and offer voters a clear choice. Many believe that a more robust primary process would have given Harris a better chance at success, although the economic and social challenges facing the nation undoubtedly played a role in the outcome.
