Kamala Harris seizes the arena in a week of historic turn around

I was in the airport two Sunday afternoons ago when I first saw the news that Joe Biden was ending his presidential campaign. I was still there when he followed up a few minutes later with his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. By the time I happily put my head on my own pillow that night after a long trip, anyone paying attention could already feel it coming. Everything about the 2024 presidential election changed last week. In that week, the newly launched Harris for President campaign raised over $200 million, gathered 170,000 new volunteers, held 2,300 events in battleground states, and in two days on TikTok, attracted 2.9 million followers. Those are some "wow" stats. But none of the data really captures the moment contextually. Every Democrat who matters endorsed her in that first week. The Clintons, the Obamas, and the leaders of both congressional caucuses have jumped on board. Beyoncé has lent the campaign use of her song, "Freedom," and I've heard it dozens of times already. Then there are the Zoom rallies. It started with a gathering of black women on July 21st, with over 44,000 participants that led to $1.5 million raised. Black men followed the next day with over 20,000. White women refused to be left out when their call last Thursday had 160,000 participants that raised $8.5 million. White men had 50,000 registered for a call Monday night and that number was still growing as I wrote this. That's excitement. That's momentum. And in a campaign that the Republican nominee has long reduced to a battle of ratings and rallies, a race he was winning before Biden's departure, he is now getting obliterated. Even polling has begun to shift, with Fox News releasing a poll on Sunday showing favorability flipping in several battleground states to now favor Harris. Democrats would have always been happy to run solely on the Biden administration's record. It's a good one. But the campaign was flailing because it had been reduced to the issue of the president's age. And the truth is, he is too old to persuade Americans that he's not. I'm glad he stopped trying. With the uncertainty of a path forward removed on the Democrat side, the post-convention honeymoon for Republicans ended quicker than it should have too. Ten days ago, they were acting like they had already won. They aren't anymore. It's been a whirlwind for Republicans the last three weeks. Let's recap.   Connect with Michael Leppert Visit michaelleppert.com to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter @michaelleppert  Facebook at Michael Leppert