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Multiple liberal columnists have now urged President Biden to ditch Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate for the 2024 presidential election.
Columnists at The Washington Post, New York Magazine’s The Intelligencer and a prominent independent writer said there are "better options available" for Biden’s running mate and that he should choose one of them if he wants a shot at winning re-election.
Among the Democrats mentioned to replace Harris were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
In a Washington Post column from David Ignatius, the author’s central argument was that Biden should not run for re-election at all due to his age and because it would risk him "undoing his greatest achievement – which was stopping Trump."
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Several liberal columnists have recently argued that President Joe Biden should replace Vice President Kamala Harris as his 2024 running mate if he wants to increase his chances of getting elected. (Screenshot/ABC)
Ignatius claimed another option to strengthen his campaign would be to replace Harris if Biden didn't step down. He said, "Biden could encourage a more open vice-presidential selection process that could produce a stronger running mate. There are many good alternatives, starting with now-Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass, whom I wish Biden had chosen in the first place, or Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo."
The author pointed out the vice president’s shortcomings, writing, "She is less popular than Biden, with a 39.5 percent approval rating, according to polling website FiveThirtyEight. Harris has many laudable qualities, but the simple fact is that she has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party."
Still, Ignatius acknowledged there is some risk to replacing Harris, adding, "But breaking up the ticket would be a free-for-all that could alienate Black women, a key constituency. Biden might end up more vulnerable."
The Intelligencer’s features writer Eric Levitz wrote a piece Wednesday, titled, "The Case for Biden to Drop Kamala Harris." In it, he argued that because the Democratic Party sees that "sticking with Biden is the party’s best option," despite his low polling, the current vice president should get the boot as her numbers are lower.
Levitz stated, "However bad Biden’s numbers are, Vice-President Kamala Harris’s look worse. A CBS News–YouGov poll released last week found 42 percent of Americans saying that the job Harris is doing makes them think worse of the Biden administration, compared to just 18 percent who said it makes them feel better about the White House."
He added, "Even among Democrats, only 41 percent said Harris made them think better of the administration. At the same time, only 30 percent of Democrats said that they felt ‘enthusiastic’ about Harris being Biden’s running mate."
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Two of the three columnists floated Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., as a good replacement for Vice President Harris on Biden's re-election ticket. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The author declared, "Thus, there is a strong case for Biden to pick a new running mate for 2024, one with a more promising electoral track record and approval rating than Harris. Doing so would plausibly improve his odds of winning next November and put Democrats in a better position come 2028."
He followed up by floating potential replacements, saying, "Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer enjoys majority approval in her swing state. Georgia senator Raphael Warnock has won two statewide elections in the last three years… Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth is an Asian American war heroine who outperformed her state’s governor, J.B. Pritzker, in her re-election bid last year."
Journalist and podcaster Josh Barro published a column titled, "Biden Should Pick A New Running Mate for 2024: Gretchen Whitmer," to his "Very Serious" website Tuesday.
In it, he stated that Biden’s VP pick for re-election "should be someone who is credible as the future leader of the Democratic Party. Kamala Harris, unfortunately, is not an excellent candidate for the vice presidency. There are better options available and he should pick one of them — specifically… he should pick Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer."
Like the other columns, Barro’s noted Harris’ low approval ratings, but also said her supposed strong qualities might not even exist.
"But Harris’s role as a draw for Black voters is more theoretical than demonstrated," he wrote. "She has never had a core political base among Black voters because she has never been elected in a jurisdiction with a large black population — she held office in San Francisco (which is 6% black) and California (7% black)."
He added, "A key reason her 2020 campaign stalled was that she failed to demonstrate an especially strong appeal to Black voters, who tended to prefer her (White) eventual running mate, Biden, even after she accused him of being a segregationist."
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