WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is facing the delicate task of calibrating her policy pitch to American voters, a standard task for any White House hopeful but one that comes with additional challenges this year.
First, Harris is running for president while serving under President Joe Biden, meaning she’s linked to anything that happened — or will happen — on his watch. She inherits accomplishments like limiting the cost of insulin but also the administration’s struggle to prevent illegal border crossings.
Second, Harris has baggage from her own failed campaign for president before she became Biden’s running mate four years ago. During that Democratic primary, she backed an array of progressive proposals that Republicans have highlighted to paint her as “dangerously liberal.”
Harris has already disavowed some of her earlier positions, such as a ban on fracking and support for single-payer healthcare. And she’s pledging to keep some of Biden’s promises, including no tax increases on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.
That means Harris’ path to the White House could depend on her ability to chart a course toward the country’s future while being selective about her past. Success will mean keeping Democrats united behind her vision while keeping the focus on Republican candidate Donald Trump’s record of undermining abortion rights and his challenges to democratic traditions.
Everything will have to happen at unprecedented speed because Harris was abruptly thrust into the spotlight after Biden decided to drop his reelection bid a little more than a week ago. Her newly designed campaign website doesn’t even include a policy section.
“You’re building the plane while you’re flying it,” said Bakari Sellers, a Harris ally who co-chaired her campaign four years ago.
Sellers said Harris should make sure to focus on bread-and-butter issues like medical debt.
“You can see the history she represents. You can hear that in her voice,” Sellers said. “But you still have to attract voters who don’t know who you are, who don’t subscribe to the historic nature of your campaign.”
Unsurprisingly, Harris has embraced much of the same platform as Biden. In her stump speeches since jumping into the presidential race, she promotes affordable child care, paid family leave and expanded health care.
On Tuesday in Atlanta, she promised to target price gouging and hidden bank fees. She always emphasizes restoring the nationwide right to abortion, which was eliminated two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.
She’s also endorsing new proposals announced by Biden since she took over the campaign, including term limits for Supreme Court justices and binding ethics rules. In a statement, Harris said the court faces a “clear crisis of confidence” that needs to be addressed.
Presidential candidates often detail their policy ideas during primaries as they try to differentiate themselves within their party. However, Harris leapfrogged that step this year, and she may face less pressure in the compressed campaign to spell out exactly how new programs will be funded and implemented.
“In this environment, the Democratic candidate needs enough policy to tell people how she’s going to bring her fight for the future alive, but not so much that it weighs down the speeches,” said Jamal Simmons, a former communications director in the vice president’s office.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for Harris, said she would “build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic agenda” and offer a “stark contrast” to Trump’s plans to cut taxes for the wealthy and eliminate the Affordable Care Act.
Harris wants to keep Democrats united as the campaign enters its final few months. So far, intra-party skirmishes have been rare but not eliminated.
Two billionaire donors said that Harris should replace Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission appointed by Biden, if elected because of her aggressive use of antitrust law. In response, liberals rallied to Khan’s defense and called on Harris to leave her in place. Harris hasn’t commented on the issue.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said the White House has built “high trust” with liberal groups that will buoy Harris through the election. He doubted she would dramatically change course from the Biden administration, but expected that “she will have her own unique flavor and point of emphasis.”
Green added, “I don’t think anybody should be afraid of a gut check.”
Some of Harris’ shifts may be more about emphasis than outright changes. For example, her recent remarks on the Gaza war did not create any daylight between her and Biden, but Harris placed more emphasis on Palestinian suffering. She also included clearer outreach to Americans who have been demoralized by the conflict.
“To everyone who has been calling for a cease-fire and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you,” she said.
Republicans want to prevent Harris from reinventing herself for the general election, aiming to saddle her with Biden-era controversies and her own campaign from four years ago.
“She was involved in every one of Joe Biden’s failures, but we’ve also seen what her vision is for president,” said Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “She would make things even worse.”
Trump’s team and its allies have been sifting through videos where Harris talked about providing healthcare to immigrants who are in the country illegally and decriminalizing border crossings. And they’re blaming her for migration challenges that took place before border crossings dropped under Biden’s latest policies.
Although Trump is hardly consistent when it comes to policy proposals, Berg said there’s more risk to Harris because she’s less well-known and public views on her can still be shaped.
“She’s going to come off as a liar,” he said. “Was she lying then or is she lying now?”
Simmons doubted voters would care about her past positions on issues like the “defund the police” movement, which Harris praised for questioning whether money was being wisely spent on public safety, because she served in an administration that pumped more money into law enforcement.
“Five years ago she said one thing, but two years ago she did something about it, and the crime rate is lower today,” he said.