I HAVE two close relatives in the United States. One is based in the Bay Area and works in technology; the other is in the Mountain West subregion of the western US and works in finance. The younger one, in the Bay Area, is an Elizabeth Warren-type of Democrat; the finance worker rooted for former Republican Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, indicating a clear ideological divide despite the same party registration. But within 24 hours after US President Joe Biden dropped his reelection campaign, my two relatives became an enthusiastic part of the 888,000 "unique individuals" who promptly contributed to the "Kamala (Harris) for President" campaign that raised more than $80 million, the largest ever raised in a single day in any presidential campaign in US history.
The 48-hour haul was more than $100 million, with over 1.1 million grassroots contributors chipping in to prop up the Harris campaign. Democratic support groups such as Act Blue are confident the Harris campaign will set two records: one in campaign contributions and the other in enthusiasm. But are fundraising prowess and enthusiasm victory-resulting indicators? Political science has yet to take a deep dive into that question.
But the two are definitely positive to any political campaign.
But where things stand right now in the current US presidential campaign, one development is all too obvious: the anemic reelection campaign of Biden has been transformed overnight into a campaign of energy, power and enthusiasm for Harris, who has inherited both the machinery and the resources of the president's aborted campaign.
It is also a campaign of urgency, said former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who won the popular vote by more than 3 million but lost to Donald Trump in the Electoral College vote.
"There is now an even sharper, clearer choice in the November election. On one side is a convicted criminal who cares only about himself and is trying to turn back the clock on our rights and our country. On the other is a savvy former prosecutor and successful vice president who embodies our faith that America's best days are still ahead. It is old grievances versus new solutions," Clinton wrote in a New York Times opinion piece published on July 23.
Both the Democratic elite and the party base have lined up behind Harris' candidacy right after Biden ceded his to her. The handful of governors who had been expected to contest her candidacy — Governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California, among them — have offered their unqualified support. Just two days after taking over the Biden campaign, the vice president has more than enough delegates to win her party's nomination, even in an open convention.
A new poll said 78 percent of party delegates approve of Harris' quick ascendancy from vice president to presidential candidate. More than 60 percent want the party to "move ahead" and formally declare her as the Democratic White House contender without competition.
"The baton is in our hands," declared Harris to a cheering crowd in her first campaign speech in Wisconsin, a battleground state Clinton lost by a few thousand votes in 2016.
Unlike Biden, who failed to come out with a clear line of attack against Trump, which was also one of the main reasons both the party base and Democratic leaders lost faith in his ability to win the November election, Harris already had a potent attack line. She used her reputation as a former California prosecutor with formidable skills and tough-on-crime cred to draw the contrast between herself and Trump.
During her time as a prosecutor, Harris said, she prosecuted "predators who abused women, fraudsters who rip off customers and cheaters who broke the law for their own gain," a clear reference to Trump.
Simply put, the current presidential contest is between a felon and a prosecutor. But can she win against Trump?
The amped-up exuberance of the Democratic base and party leadership was supported by new polling done after Harris took over the Biden campaign and became the de facto candidate of the Democrats.
Poll after poll before Biden's exit showed depressing numbers for him. He was losing big in all the battleground states with a single bright note that said Wisconsin was tied. Democratic leaders feared that down-ballot races, even in the traditionally Democratic states, were in danger of turning Republican with Biden on top of the ticket. There was this consensus that the Democrats would lose control of the Senate and would fail to win the House of Representatives back due to Biden's many weaknesses.
Post exit, a Reuter's poll said Harris was ahead by two points over Trump, an encouraging sign that the former prosecutor has a fighting chance to beat the felon. The broader world, including our country that, gets 40 percent or more of the total yearly remittances from US-based Filipinos, has a stake in the battle between the daughter of immigrants — Harris — and Trump, who harbors an intense loathing toward people of color.
Also, remember that the Trump campaign has vowed to carry out a massive campaign to deport undocumented immigrants right once he assumes office again. There is a big possibility that even Filipino Americans would be swept up in those indiscriminate, cruel raids laced with racial bias and bigotry.
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