Our most recent book is Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. Less than 48 hours after Biden's withdrawal, Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee.
Backstories are crucial to understanding current events.
Pelosi nudged Biden out of the race. But she had a complicated relationship with the VP, dating back to the latter's first race for DA. Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell at WP:
Pelosi floated the idea of an “open process” to nominate a candidate were Biden to step aside, angering many of Harris’s California allies. (She privately told the California delegation in the House before Biden dropped out that they should immediately coalesce around Harris if she does end up becoming the nominee.)
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When Harris ran for San Francisco attorney general [sic, DA] in 2003 against Terence Hallinan, Pelosi and the San Francisco Democratic Party endorsed Hallinan. Harris beat her former boss in a runoff.
When Harris ran for Senate in 2016 to fill retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer’s seat against then-Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Boxer and then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein endorsed Harris. Pelosi did not endorse in that race.
California politics are cliquey and built on years of powerful alliances. And Harris was not part of Pelosi’s circle.
In a CNN interview last year, Pelosi shocked the Democratic establishment when she was asked whether Harris is the best running mate for Biden. Biden “thinks so, and that’s what matters,” she replied.
But James Clyburn got him to endorse Harris. As we explain in Divided We Stand, Biden owes his presidency to Clyburn.
Jasmine Wright at NOTUS:At times, Harris’ allies saw her as the victim of the age-old Black spiritual that young Black women are told from generation to generation: You have to be twice as good to get half of what white people have. And if you falter for a moment, that could follow you for the rest of time.
“I think she was treated unfairly by the media,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn, a key Biden ally who is also a Harris supporter. “Some Democrats, too.”
But her aides spent years trying to rehabilitate her image, focusing on reconnecting with Harris’ longtime advocates and finding new ones in an attempt to build a firewall of support for when the detractors got too loud. And it was that firewall that was put to work after Biden’s debate in June, activated and waiting for the July moment when Biden decided to end his campaign.
“When Joe Biden called me that morning, read me his statement, I said to him at the time, ‘There’s something missing in this statement.’ And he knew what I meant. And he said to me at the time, ‘I will be issuing a second statement within the hour.’ And that was the statement endorsing her,” Clyburn said.
Black electeds and political operatives were quick to declare to all who would hear that if the Democratic Party skipped over Harris, it would be at its own peril.
