The group of Democratic lawmakers known as “the squad” has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States. New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman said Harris is the “most qualified and best choice” to take over following President Biden’s shock withdrawal. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said she is “all in” with Kamala Harris.
Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri declared that MAGA “extremism and fascism” were dragging America backward. She added that black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party, and it was time for them to take a leadership role. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota thanked President Biden and said she was “thrilled” to support Harris and is committed to “working alongside her to defeat Donald Trump.”
New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez initially declared that the Democrats would be in “enormous peril” without Biden but quickly expressed her support for Harris, tweeting that she “will be the next President of the United States.” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez also stated that the Democrats must speedily unite behind the Vice President to ensure her victory in November.
Initial reactions from Harris suggest she has decided upon her attack strategy and will emphasize her history as a prosecutor and pit it against Trump’s criminal conviction. In her first statement, she referred to the former President as a “convicted felon” and lauded her record as a jailer of lawbreakers.
Recent polling has indicated that Democrats are largely happy with the Vice President’s presumed candidacy. In a YouGov poll, 79% said they would support Harris taking over from Biden, and 28% thought she had a better shot of beating Trump than the current Oval Office occupant.
Additionally, while Harris tends to trail behind Trump in nationwide surveys, the gap is narrower than Biden’s. For instance, in one poll, the former President led Biden by 52% to 47% but only led Harris by 51% to 48%. Similarly, an Ipsos poll showed that Trump led Harris by just 1%.
