To reclaim the White House, Democrats need fresh faces and new ideas. That is why Kamala Harris should make it clear very soon that she won’t run for president again in 2028 – so that the Democratic base, and not the party machine, can pick the next nominee.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
There is no doubt that last month’s election was a tough loss for the Democrats. And, usually, the first place where you’d look to assign blame would be the top of the ticket. But it’s not primarily Vice President Kamala Harris’s fault that Donald Trump will become president for a second time.
That honor goes to others… mainly Joe Biden, who not only refused to step aside earlier to allow for a competitive primary but also did not sufficiently address border security during his time in office. Then there are all those (including Harris) who covered for him when it became obvious that he should not run again. Finally, a bunch of veteran Democratic “strategists” and consultants really screwed things up by running a “business as usual” campaign in an election cycle that was not ordinary at all.
So, don’t (just) point fingers at the vice president, who was in a tough spot and did much better than Biden would have. In the end, while Trump and his Republicans like to pretend that the outcome amounted to a “landslide,” this election was fairly close.
And, seeing how Democrats have to field a candidate who can win back younger voters — who inexplicably flocked to Trump this year — they need to pick somebody who doesn’t think that TikTok is a breath mint.
However, while it would be a bit unfair to blame Harris for this year’s loss, if she doesn’t quickly (and categorically) rule out another run, she may be responsible for the GOP prevailing again in 2028.
That’s because the Democrats need new ideas, new faces, and, most importantly, a nominee picked by their voters rather than by party elders.
For all of these reasons, Harris should bow out now — even though she is comfortably ahead in some way-too-early polls.
As she probably knows better than most, convincing any politician not to run is a challenge because you don’t get to the top of the political world without a healthy dose of self-confidence.
There is no better example than Biden, so at least she got an up-close view of what it looks like when somebody puts ego before party and country.
So, why not Harris?
We’re glad you asked.
First of all, she will be 64 years old in 2028, and while that might seem very young compared to her boss, or to Hillary Clinton in 2016, the Democrats are in desperate need of rejuvenation.
In the past, that might have been a bit of a challenge. Now, however, the party has a very deep bench of talented and high-profile leaders.
Swing state Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (MI), who will be 57, and Josh Shapiro, who will be 55, should probably be the oldest of the candidates throwing their hats in the ring.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who managed to win a deep-red state twice, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will both be 50; Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, 46; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) will be 39.
Usually, when the Democratic machine picks its nominee, they end up losing. If it’s somebody chosen in a real primary, they win.
There are a few reasons why a more youthful candidate will benefit Democrats.
First of all, the next Republican nominee will likely be pretty young. It would be shocking if the GOP picks somebody older than 50.
Don’t laugh now (or gasp in horror), but there is more than a 50-50 chance that one of the following names will appear at the top of the GOP’s ticket in four years: Vice President-elect JD Vance, Trump apostle Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, or presidential spawn Donald Trump Jr.
And, seeing how Democrats have to field a candidate who can win back younger voters — who inexplicably flocked to Trump this year — they need to pick somebody who doesn’t think that TikTok is a breath mint.
In addition, it would just be silly not to take advantage of the most talented generation of Democratic leaders the party has had in some time.
Finally, there are a few characteristics that the most successful Democrats of the past few decades have shared.
One is that they were young (Biden is the exception, but he ran against a dude who botched the response to a global pandemic when that was still on the minds of voters).
On the day of his inauguration, Bill Clinton was 46 years old. And, when Barack Obama was sworn in, he was just a year older.
The two of them have something else in common, and it is a trait the next nominee needs: They were not the party’s chosen candidate.
Republicans and their allies have been incredibly successful in painting Democrats as the bad guys trying to destroy the country. But now the GOP controls all the power in Washington, so there will be nobody to blame.
Usually, when the Democratic machine picks its nominee, they end up losing. If it’s somebody chosen in a real primary, they win. This was true in the case of both Clintons (Bill won a real primary, Hillary lost after a coronation), Al Gore and John Kerry, who both were the party favorites, and Obama.
Once again, the outlier was Biden, but he beat the “inject-bleach-into-your-veins” guy (and we have explained multiple times how and why an even more extreme version of that dude got elected last month).
Most importantly, the next primary has to be a battle of ideas, and those can’t come from the establishment, i.e., some crusty politicians and veteran politicos.
It would be great if the aforementioned Democrats managed to run a competitive — but not combative — primary in which they staked out different positions.
Obviously, someone like AOC would be unapologetically progressive, while others would try to win from the center.
And that’s how it should be.
Say what you want about Republicans, but their base at least had a choice between sane and Trump.
Let’s hope that some of the younger Democrats spend the next couple of years building the case why their vision for the party is the winning formula.
Obviously, we are aware that it is way too early to start campaigning, but it would be great for this “battle for the soul of the party” to start now, and allow voters to make that decision and not consultants and pollsters.
The party has some real questions to answer, e.g., should it focus on economic populism (yes) or winning the culture war (no)?
Republicans and their allies have been incredibly successful in painting Democrats as the bad guys trying to destroy the country. But now the GOP controls all the power in Washington, so there will be nobody else to blame.
By the way, that is another compelling reason why Harris should not run. She has a lot of baggage from her time as vice president, while the other candidates would have a much cleaner slate.
Trump is not going to solve many of the country’s problems (although he will pretend that he did), so Democrats really have to embrace their role as an opposition party and point out all of the things that aren’t getting fixed.
And it’s much more effective if fresh voices do so and not somebody who is perceived as having created some of these problems.
Stepping aside for somebody better equipped to lead the Democrats in the coming years won’t be easy for Harris. But if she manages to put party and country before her own ambition, she will realize that this is the right decision, and she will win history’s approbation for doing so.
