Kamala Harris is certainly a huge challenge to Donald Trump’s campaign, as per observers.
Joe Biden recently took a decision to exit the US presidential election, and ended up endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris to be his successor. Now with Harris entering the 2024 presidential contest, and becoming the new presumptive nominee of the Democrats, it is a key moment for the Indian-American political scenario. And as per analysts, she will pose a huge challenge to Donald Trump’s campaign.
It was recently that Biden, 81, withdrew as the Democratic Party’s candidate ahead of the November presidential election. The development comes amid increasing pressure from party members with concerns about his age and health. As for Harris, 59, she is the first female vice-president in US history. Being the daughter of immigrants, her parents were Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father with both of them being academics and activists.
Despite Biden’s endorsement, it is unclear that she would become the party’s nominee. However, she is certainly the front runner to be selected for it at the Democratic National Convention, to be held from August 19-22.
Coming to Asian-Americans, they seemed to be always rallying around the Democratic Party. However, under Biden’s leadership, the numbers were dipping. As per 2024 Asian American Voters Survey, earlier this month, 46 per cent of Asian-American voters would vote for Biden. The numbers dipped from 54 per cent in 2020, and now with Harris’ nomination, it is believed that the numbers would be reversed.
South China Morning Post quoted Robert B. Lancia, a former Rhode Island State legislator, as saying, “Definitely, the Indian-American community will rally around her [Harris]. It’s good that President Biden has stepped aside for her to step up with about a month to go before the next Democrats’ convention.”
Do you know that Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in southern India. She was a breast cancer researcher, and her husband, economist Donald Harris, met when they were graduate students at the University of California, Berkley. In a bid to embrace both her South Asian and Black identities, Harris attended both a Black Baptist church and a Hindu temple as a child.
However, when last week, Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate and potential vice-president, it was believed that it would help him get support from the Indian-American community since Vance’s wife Usha Chilukuri Vance is Indian-American.
As per analysts, Trump, who is 78, may find it difficult to secure young voters because there were jibes about Biden’s age as well. Hence, Harris’ entry might mean that the benefit that Trump had over Biden would be narrowed. Nonetheless, she will have to focus on immigration, inflation and the rising cost of living to get voters.
