President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate. Biden, 81, was under pressure after his incoherent debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27. He was openly criticized by the corporate media because of his age, even though his then opponent, Republican Donald Trump, at 78 years old, is only three years younger.
Another concern about Biden’s chances of reelection in November of this year was his disconnect with young voters due to his support for Israel and his lack of appeal to them.
Harris, 59, didn’t waste any time, jumping decidedly into her campaign, giving the image of an energetic and sharp candidate. She has made clear the main points of her agenda with women’s rights—including reproductive rights—being a priority.
Voter registration spiked right after Biden endorsed her. According to the nonpartisan site Vote.org, almost 40,000 people registered to vote following Harris’s entry into the presidential race.
“That’s the largest number of new voters registered over a 48-hour period we’ve seen this entire cycle,” Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, posted on X (formerly Twitter). The largest demographic signing up was people aged 18 to 34.
There is much speculation about who Harris will name as her running mate, which had not been announced before our press deadline. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago August 19–22.
A sampling of local reactions follows:
Minerva Mendoza (Madera)
As a potential presidential candidate, Vice President Harris has rekindled my excitement for the upcoming presidential election in the United States. The possibility of a female president and daughter of immigrants ascending to the presidency is truly inspiring.
She brings both experience and a fresh perspective. Her understanding of such important issues as affirmative action, abortion rights, gun control and immigration resonates with me.
While I recognize her mixed legacy and impact on communities of color, she deserves a chance, and we as a nation deserve one. I am cautiously supporting her, as we have been in similar situations before where we believed a president could change things for our community, only to be left disappointed.
Francisco Duarte (Fresno)
Regarding Kamala Harris as a candidate…some communities of color, or feminist groups, would hope that a person of color, in addition to being a female, could mean some benefit to them, which, while this is a possibility, it is not guaranteed. Look at [Florida Republican Senator] Marco Rubio or [Texas Republican Senator] Ted Cruz; how good is it for immigrants [that] they are in Congress?
Many activists who want to have a real progressive option—say, like Bernie Sanders—are forced instead to choose the lesser of two evils in the race: the Democratic Party, even knowing that the two dominant parties respond to similar political-economic interests. Others will choose not to participate in the process and wait for real changes.
Nayamin Martinez (Fresno)
I believe that Kamala, being a woman of color, can appeal to other women of color, mainly immigrants or descendants of immigrants who did not feel represented by an elderly white man. I will vote for her if she is the nominee. I hope she adopts a more liberal agenda, in terms of reproductive rights [and] immigration policies.
If Mexico has already elected a woman as president, it would be good for me to see this phenomenon repeated in the United States. I hope they close ranks and support Kamala, who can save us from the abyss called Trump.
Johanna Torres (Madera)
I think that someone who is not a bigot is good for society as a whole. I would vote for her.
Sandra Iyall (Fresno)
I am voting for Kamala Harris for president and have already donated to her campaign and ordered a Harris 2024 t-shirt. I am grateful the media has something to talk about other than Biden’s showing at the debate. I will never support a Republican candidate, and now the Democrats have a candidate that people are being excited to support.
As a Cowlitz woman, I trust Kamala to understand the importance of protecting women’s rights and civil rights. I was encouraged by Biden’s choice for Interior Secretary when he chose Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a 35th-generation New Mexican, and I have every reason to believe President Harris will continue the legacy.
It will be up to all of us to apply [the] pressure needed to our elected representatives to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, fund higher education for our youth, promote the rights of workers to unionize, protect our environment and have peace with justice.
Oralia Maceda (Fresno)
I think that the fact that Kamala Harris, being a woman of color, is running as a candidate, is a good thing. However, I don’t think the policies she will implement will be any different from those we have experienced. In the end, she has to follow the direction of her party.
Nevertheless, her speeches are less aggressive than Trump’s. It is a lot to think that she will stop supporting economically and morally the countries that are causing deaths and wars.
Lourdes Oliva (Fresno)
I feel confident about Kamala Harris being our next President. Being a woman is important and essential to start listening to the majority of registered voters and the current workforce, and families. Her immigrant story and her mother’s is one that we can identify with.
I’m very proud of President Biden endorsing and passing the baton to Kamala. We need to see all the benefits of her leadership and our investments as voters and donors of her campaign and race. I had the opportunity to meet her when she attended Fresno prior to her first run for President.
I was skeptical before I met her because [of what] others in the mostly white community were sharing about her politics. However, when BWOPA invited her to come to Fresno she did and seeing her in person inspired me.
I think that she will need all our support because she will be the first female leader of the nation. This is a great opportunity to inspire all our Gen Z and millennials and our youth and, why not, my two-year-old granddaughter.
Teresa Castillo (Fresno)
A friend told me that voter registration in the 18–35 age range is way up again, after Biden stepped out and nominated Harris. I don’t know her source, but this follows my initial feeling of hope.
I have felt that Biden is out of touch with what most Americans need and want (most career politicians also are out of touch). I had little faith in his ability to win reelection. I’m horrified to see what Trump and his people would do to our country, and I don’t see a strong enough platform for any third party to win, so Kamala Harris brings me hope.
I really would love to see our country turned upside down with a progressive, fair leader committed to enforcing human rights and equity for all. I don’t see Harris as that leader, but as a woman of color who is strong in her ability to lead and who can speak with conviction, she is a start.
My problems come in not knowing where she really stands on several issues, mainly Israel. I don’t think we’ve seen her true side yet, and if it aligns with a hard policy against Israel’s genocide and apartheid human rights abuses, will she really be able to rein in the staunch supporters of Israel and stand against that lobby?
Still, I have hope that she will bring us better, to help our country be more united for good and focus on building up at home instead of the constant destruction of countries abroad.
As a woman of color, she has personally experienced some discrimination and dismissal that others have, so she will always have that in her pocket. She, however, also has a level of privilege above many women of color in middle America so I hope she can have empathy and reach those who could benefit from her life experience.
Overall though, representation matters, so I feel that her presence alone could inspire so many to be uplifted and vote and be renewed in the political process.
