Vice President Kamala Harris is at a turning point, entering her third year in Office.
After a tumultuous first two years in Office, mired by a slew of staffers leaving and a series of missteps, The Vice President has poured her efforts into steadying the ship.
Now that President Joe Biden is expected to seek reelection in 2024, Harris has to prove that she can succeed him in 2028 while making a case that she can step in at any moment.
She’ll have to do this while supporting Biden in his efforts, a precarious position to be in, especially as she has a long way to go to prove her Presidential capability.
One Democratic strategist highlighted the position Harris finds herself in, saying that “she still has to prove she can be president” while walking “a fine line” supporting Biden and his agenda.
According to some polls, Harris isn’t carving out her image as President successfully.
FiveThirtyEight and a handful of other polls show Harris is underwater, with her approval rating hovering at 40 percent while her disapproval is consistently hovering above 50 percent.
These figures reflect her position within the Democratic party, according to some strategists, who described Harris as lacking the “type of dominant sway” needed to pursue a Presidential bid in a few years.
Strategists have highlighted that now would be the time for Harris to develop that dominant position within the Democratic Party.
One aspect working in Harris’s favor in 2023 is the Democrats’ 51-seat majority in the Senate. However, the majority isn’t guaranteed, given Senator Kirsten Sinema announced she would become an Independent, although her record shows her voting with Democrats on legislation. Yet, her move means that Harris could still find herself in the Senate in 2023.
